The International Committee of the Red Cross issued a statement condemning the use of chemical weapons in Mosul, the second largest city of Iraq where the Iraqi troops have been fighting the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group.
The Red Cross said seven people, including children, with symptoms consistent with an exposure to a toxic chemical agent were being treated.
What is the issue about?
It has been conclusively proven that the Islamic terrorist organisation is using chemical weapons.
U.S. military officials have repeatedly warned of the IS’s chemical warfare capabilities.
This is not the first time the IS has been accused of using chemical weapons.
Last year, IS fighters launched at least three chemical attacks south of Mosul
The IS is targeting more civilians at a time when it is facing a huge military setback.
The IS has used chemical weapons, including chlorine and sulphur mustard agents, at least 52 times on battlefields in Syria and Iraq since 2014.
But it’s not clear from where IS got sulphur mustard, a chemical warfare agent.
The threats they pose could be minimal as their capacity to make high-grade weapons and delivery systems may be limited.
Still, terror groups possessing chemical weapons pose a challenge to the international security architecture.
What is a chemical warfare agent?
Chemical warfare agent also known as “vesicants,” or blister agents.
The various chemical agents are- sulphur, chlorine, mustard gas etc
Chlorine is commercially available as an industrial chemical, and terrorist groups often use it to make bombs.
The use of chemical and biological weapons is a war crime.
Efforts to eradicate their use date back to the 19th century and the first universal ban came into effect after First World War.
In 1997, the Chemical Weapons Convention treaty prohibited the use and production of chemical weapons.
At least 190 states have so far accepted the treaty, while 93% of the world’s declared stockpile of chemical weapons has been destroyed.
But these regulations are meant for nation-states, whereas the attack in Mosul suggests that non-state terrorist actors also possess chemical weapons capabilities.
The regime of Saddam Hussein and that of Bashar al-Assad in Syria had possessed the weapons earlier.
The Saddam regime is gone, and Syria gave up its chemical weapons as part of an international agreement to avoid American invasion.
