Alleged British use of chemical weapons in Mesopotamia in 1920

<p>It has been alleged that the British used chemical weapons in Mesopotamia in 1920, during the <a href="/facts/Iraqi_revolt_of_1920/yqK2KFC9">Iraqi revolt</a> (<i>Ath Thawra al Iraqiyya al Kubra</i>), in the period of the <a href="/facts/Mandate_for_Mesopotamia/MCnMM0T9">British Mandate over Mesopotamia</a>. Use of tear gas and lethal poison gas against Iraqi rebels was considered, and the use of gas was promoted by <a href="/facts/Winston_Churchill/Wm8LXNzH">Winston Churchill</a>, head of the <a href="/facts/War_Office/7qVGsJCk">War Office</a>, who encouraged research into the dropping of <a href="/facts/Mustard_gas/e3qWU2Qp">mustard gas</a> by air. <a href="/facts/Tear_gas/SLJoBYEN">Tear gas</a> artillery shells were transported to Iraq and approval was given for their use, but tests by the army found them to be impractical and they were not used in combat. Efforts to develop gas weapons for use in Iraq were halted by the British over concerns about embarrassing political repercussions following the signing of the <a href="/facts/Washington_Disarmament_Conference/YLGJeSzR">Washington Disarmament Treaty</a>, which contained a provision outlawing poison gas, although the British government held that the use of tear gas remained legally permissible. Practical difficulties ultimately prevented the use of gas, rather than any moral inhibitions.
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Alleged British use of chemical weapons in Mesopotamia in 1920 open-in-new

Alleged British use of chemical weapons in Mesopotamia in 1920