Turkey ‘used illegal phosphorus munitions in Syria’

Accusations that Turkey has used banned incendiary weapons against civilians in its invasion of northern Syria are credible, a leading security analyst was quoted by Arab News yesterday. Kurdish leaders said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s fighter jets had dropped munitions containing napalm and white phosphorus on civilian targets in the border town of Ras Al Ain, a key objective for Turkish troops.

“The Turkish aggression is using all available weapons against Ras Al Ain,” the Kurdish administration said. “Faced with the obvious failure of his plan, Erdogan is resorting to weapons that are globally banned, such as phosphorus and napalm.”

Nicholas Heras, an analyst at the Center for New American Security, told Arab News: “There are now multiple credible reports that Turkey has used white phosphorus munitions in its campaign in northeast Syria, and especially against the stubborn defenders of the city of Ras Al Ain.”

The attacks on Ras Al Ain are being investigated by UN chemical weapons inspectors, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), and Human Rights Watch.  OPCW said it had “not yet determined the credibility of these allegations,” and its inspectors were monitoring the situation.