Rebels report chemical attack near Damascus
Syrian opposition claims chemical weapons used in army assault on town near capital, post videos of victims
Meanwhile, Al-Jazeera reported that dozens were injured in a Syrian army attack on the cities of Adra and Douma. Some 30 Syrians injured in the attack on Adra are being treated for respiratory problems in a field hospital.
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Last week, the United Nations announced that Syria will allow UN inspectors to visit three sites in the country to check suspected use of chemical weapons by both army forces and rebels. A UN delegation met with Syrian officials two weeks ago.
Video claiming to be documenting attack victims
Also Monday, Human Rights Watch said in a report that the Syrian military is firing ballistic missiles into populated areas where it is battling rebels, killing hundreds of civilians in recent months.
The U.S.-based group said it has investigated nine apparent missile attacks that killed at least 215 people, half of them children, between February and July. The most recent attack HRW investigated occurred in the northern province of Aleppo on July 26, killing at least 33 civilians including 17 children.
HRW activists visited the sites of seven of the nine attacks and found no apparent military targets nearby, the group said. Ole Solvang, a senior researcher with HRW, said it's impossible to distinguish between civilians and fighters when firing missiles with wide-ranging destructive effects into densely populated areas.
"Even if there are fighters in the area, you cannot accurately target them and the impact in some of these cases has been devastating to local civilians," Solvang said in a statement.
The HRW called on President Bashar Assad to stop indiscriminate attacks.
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