Dealing with Assad’s toxic legacy, one secret chemical lab at a time
CNNDamascus, Syria CNN — People in the Jaramana suburb of Damascus always thought something strange was happening at the nearby state security facility. Visiting the site last month with the Syrian Civil Defense, the volunteer non-governmental organization also known as the White Helmets, CNN witnessed first-hand the hazmat team’s chemical agent detectors repeatedly going off, indicating the presence of toxic materials. Farouq Habib, the deputy general manager of the White Helmets, told CNN that he believed the facility was a research lab connected to the Assad regime’s chemical weapons programs, although the group said it could not confirm this until more specialized testing has been done. “The regime claimed many years ago that it had disposed all its chemical weapons, but we knew that kept using them,” he told CNN, leafing through documents found at the site. CNN Dangerous mission The White Helmets were called in by the local Druze leader, who said a pharmacist from the community raised the alarm about the potentially toxic materials stored at the Jaramana facility.
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