At least 58 people have been reported killed in what witnesses claim was a chemical weapons attack in northern
Syria, as world leaders discuss ending the conflict in Brussels.
Doctors in the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhoun, in
Idlib province, said victims started to choke, vomit and faint with foam coming out of their mouths.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 11 children and several women were among dozens killed, with reports of "suffocation" following the bombings.
Hospital treating patients for 'toxic gas' exposure bombed
It put the death toll at 58 but warned the number could rise as several victims remained in a serious condition.
Dr Shajul Islam said the hospital where he worked was filling up with patients, posting footage online of victims he said showed symptoms of exposure to sarin.
"We have samples," he wrote. "Will anyone care? Who will stop it?"
Rescue workers from the White Helmets group were seen wearing gas masks to protect themselves while treating people lying amid rubble on the ground.
They reported at least 20 civilians among those affected, saying chlorine gas may have been responsible.
Activists posted video online claiming to show the moment the bombs struck, alleging they were dropped by Syrian air force helicopters as clouds of smoke rose into the air.
It came little over a week after another alleged chemical attack hit a hospital in the town of Latamneh, just 14 miles away.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), which supports the facility, said a bomb dropped by a helicopter struck the entrance on 25 March.
Use of chemical weapons in the Syrian civil war
Use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Civil War has been confirmed by the
United Nations. The deadliest attacks were the
Ghouta attack in the suburbs of
Damascus in August 2013 and the
Khan al-Assal attack in the suburbs of
Aleppo in March 2013. Several other attacks have been alleged, reported and/or investigated.
A U.N. fact-finding mission and
a UNHRC Commission of Inquiry have simultaneously investigated the attacks. The U.N. mission found likely use of the
nerve agent sarin in the case of Khan Al-Asal (19 March 2013), Saraqib (29 April 2013), Ghouta (21 August 2013), Jobar (24 August 2013) and Ashrafiyat Sahnaya (25 August 2013). The UNHRC commission later confirmed the use of sarin in the Khan al-Asal, Saraqib and Ghouta attacks, but did not mention the Jobar and the Ashrafiyat Sahnaya attacks.
The UNHRC commission also found that the sarin used in the Khan al-Asal attack bore "the same unique hallmarks" as the sarin used in the Ghouta attack and indicated that the perpetrators likely had access to chemicals from the Syrian Army's stockpile.
In August 2016, a confidential
United Nations report explicitly blamed the Syrian military of
Bashar al-Assad for dropping chemical weapons on the towns of Talmenes in April 2014 and Sarmin in March 2015.
[1]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Use_of_chemical_weapons_in_the_Syrian_civil_war
Syrian government blamed for Aleppo chemical attack
“Immediately after the impact, patients and staff reported suffering severe respiratory symptoms and burning of mucous membranes – symptoms consistent with an attack using chemicals,” a spokesperson said.
The hospital’s orthopaedic surgeon was among two people killed in the attack, leaving just two orthopaedic surgeons for a population of around 120,000 people, and the clinic was put out of service for three days.
Russia and China veto UN sanctions on Syria for chemical weapons use
Bashar al-Assad's forces have been accused of
repeatedly using the nerve agent during the six-year civil war, including in a massacre in Eastern Ghouta that
almost sparked military intervention by the UK in 2013.
Damascus has denied the allegations, while Isis is also alleged to have used chemical weapons including chlorine and mustard gas.
Idlib province, in north-western Syria, is a key battleground between regime forces and rebels including Islamist factions linked to al-Qaeda.
It was the destination for rebel fighters evacuated from eastern Aleppo earlier this year, and is
widely expected to be Assad's next major target.
