The Ghouta sarin attack

What happened

Sarin rockets strike opposition-held Eastern Ghouta, killing hundreds of civilians — UN investigation confirmed large-scale sarin use, and the weight of evidence attributed responsibility to government forces, which Damascus denied. A US-Russian agreement follows under which Syria joins the Chemical Weapons Convention and declared stockpiles are removed; chemical attacks nonetheless recur in later years.

Ghouta set the war's rules: the "red line" that produced disarmament rather than intervention told every actor what the outside world would tolerate. The chemical-weapons file — declarations, gaps and accountability — remains open under the transitional government.

Confidence: High