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Photo: EPA
Alleged chlorine gas attack in Syria
Photo: EPA

Rescuers say toxic gas dropped on town where Russian helicopter downed

Hours after the downing of a Russian helicopter in the Idlib region of Syria, the Assad regime allegedly dropped barrel bombs on the civilian population of the area - bombs which may have had chlorine gas in them; 33 people - mainly women and children - hospitalized with breathing problems.

BEIRUT- A Syrian rescue service operating in rebel-held territory said on Tuesday a helicopter dropped containers of toxic gas on a town close to where a Russian military helicopter had been shot down hours earlier.

 

 

The opposition Syrian National Coalition (SNC) accused President Bashar al-Assad of being behind the attack. Assad has denied previous accusations of using chemical weapons.

 

A spokesman for the Syria Civil Defence said 33 people, mostly women and children, were affected by the gas - suspected to be chlorine - in Saraqeb, in rebel-held Idlib province.

 

Baby affected by the chlorine gas attack in Idlib province (Photo: EPA)
Baby affected by the chlorine gas attack in Idlib province (Photo: EPA)

The group, which describes itself as a neutral band of search and rescue volunteers, posted a video on YouTube apparently showing a number of men struggling to breathe and being given oxygen masks by people in civil defense uniforms.

 

"Medium-sized barrels fell containing toxic gases. The Syrian Civil Defense was not able to determine the type of gas," said the spokesman.

 

The Syrian government and its Russian allies were not immediately available for comment.

 

Later, state news agency SANA said rebels had fired rockets armed with toxic gas on the government-held old quarter of Aleppo city, killing five people and causing eight to have breathing difficulties. It gave no further details. Rebels have denied previous accusations of using chemical weapons.

 

Alleged chlorine gas canister dropped in Idlib province (Photo: EPA)
Alleged chlorine gas canister dropped in Idlib province (Photo: EPA)

 

The SNC said of the reported use of poison gas in Saraqeb: "After shelling, besieging and killing civilians and perpetrating war crimes on them, the Assad regime has resorted once again, and in breach of UN resolutions 2118 and 2235, to using chemical substances and toxic gases.

 

"The daily reality confirms that all the international agreements and previous Security Council decisions, be they about chemical weapons or otherwise, are meaningless to the Assad regime."

 

The Civil Defense spokesman said it was the second time Saraqeb had been hit by toxic gas. The group was aware of around nine suspected chlorine gas incidents across Idlib province since the conflict began, he said.

 

Downed Russian helicopter in Syria (Photo: Reuters)
Downed Russian helicopter in Syria (Photo: Reuters)

 

The US State Department said it was looking into the reported use of chemical weapons in Saraqeb.

 

"I'm not in a position to confirm the veracity of (the reports)," said spokesman John Kirby. "Certainly, if it's true, it would be extremely serious."

 

Monitors at the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which tracks violence on all sides in the civil war, said barrel bombs fell on Saraqeb late on Monday, wounding a large number of citizens.

 

Russia's defense ministry said a Russian helicopter was shot down near Saraqeb during the day on Monday, killing all five people on board, in the biggest officially acknowledged loss of life for Russian forces since they started operations in Syria.

 


פרסום ראשון: 08.02.16, 21:25
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