International Rescue Committee laments lack of accountability in Syria

spoke to Cole Bockenfeld, Head of Syria Advocacy at the International Rescue Committee about the alleged chemical attack in Douma, near Damascus in Syria and the larger toll the 7 year conflict has taken on the Syrian people:

"The government has not really allowed any aid convoys to get into Easter Ghouta, to get into Douma for years now, or very sporadically, the last aid convoy that was about a month ago was just enough food to feed about 26,000 people and this is a population that is more between 100 and 150 thousand we think are still living there." Blockenfeld said.

"People are increasingly desperate, turning to eating grass or skipping meals and so on just to make ends meet and so the chemical attack on top of that hits people that are really in desperate stages." he added.

Bockenfeld also highlighted the lack of accountability for use of chemical weapons:

"This kind of attack really highlights the lack of accountability, this isn't the first chemical weapons attack we've seen in Syria but it is one of the most ruthless and I don't think it's a coincidence that you see this attack on the anniversary of one of the largest attacks, and since that time, the joint investigative mechanism that the UN security council had set up to hold perpatrators of chemical weapons attacks accountable has been shutdown and vetoed by the Russians, and so really there is no mechanism to hold people accountable." Blockenfeld stated.