Syrian government suspected of dropping chlorine gas on Aleppo, chocking dozens
Watch: Several reports of rescue workers and monitors have come out with statements that the Syrian city of Aleppo has been hit by chlorine gas, injuring dozens; the Syrian government has been accused of being behind the attack, though it denies any involvement; so far, the Syrian conflict has killed more than 250,000 people and has driven more than 11 million from their homes.
A suspected chlorine gas attack on an opposition-held neighborhood in the Syrian city of Aleppo caused dozens of cases of suffocation on Tuesday, according to the reports of rescue workers and a monitoring group.
The Syrian Civil Defence, a rescue workers' organization that operates in rebel-held areas, said government helicopters had dropped barrel bombs containing chlorine on the Sukari neighborhood in eastern Aleppo.
The Syrian government has denied previous accusations it used chemical weapons during the five-year-old civil war. The Syrian army could not be immediately reached for comment on the latest allegations.
The Civil Defence said on its Facebook page that 80 people had suffocated as a result of the attack, though no deaths have been reported. It posted a video showing wheezing children doused in water using oxygen masks to breathe.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which tracks Syrian violence using sources on the ground, said medical sources had reported 70 cases of suffocation.
A United Nations and Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons inquiry seen by Reuters last month found that Syrian government forces were responsible for two toxic gas attacks in 2014 and 2015 involving chlorine.
The Civil Defence accused the government of two other suspected chlorine gas attacks in August. On a related note, the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Syria has acknowledged that it was investigating an August incident.
"Unimaginable crimes are occurring in Aleppo," said Commission Chairman Paulo Pinheiro to reporters in Geneva, stating that "Pro-government aerial bombardments cause mass civilian casualties." Pinheiro added that "In government-held areas, indiscriminate ground shelling (by) armed groups...is also killing scores of civilians."
Aleppo has been one of the areas hit the hardest by escalating violence in recent months, following the collapse of a partial truce brokered by the United States and Russia in February.
Government forces put eastern Aleppo under siege on Sunday for a second time since July, after advancing against rebels on the city's outskirts. The city has long been divided between government and opposition areas of control.
The Syrian conflict has killed more than 250,000 people and forced more than 11 million from their homes.
