'These crimes will remain a witness to the suffering of the Syrians,’ Ahmad al-Sharaa says
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa met Saturday with survivors of a 2013 chemical attack in Eastern Ghouta by the Bashar al-Assad regime and vowed accountability for the massacre.
“These crimes will remain a witness to the suffering of the Syrians and their determination to attain freedom and dignity,” Sharaa was quoted by the Syrian Arab News Agency, or SANA, during the meeting.
“Bringing perpetrators to accountability and achieving justice is a right that does not expire with the passage of time,” he added.
Rallies were staged in Syrian cities to mark the anniversary of the massacre, with demonstrators raising photos of the victims and demanding accountability.
The Ghouta attack, carried out in the Damascus suburb, was among the deadliest chemical strikes by the Assad regime, leaving more than 1,400 civilians dead in a single night.
According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights, the Assad regime has carried out 217 chemical attacks against opposition-held areas since the outbreak of anti-regime protests in 2011.
Syria’s transitional administration, formed after Assad’s ouster in late 2024, is working to restore stability across the country after nearly 25 years of authoritarian rule.
