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Syrian Government Accused of Gas Attack on Civilians

A father and mother hold their sickened children in a makeshift hospital in Eastern Ghouta in Syria last Monday, January 22 A father and mother hold their sickened children in a makeshift hospital in Eastern Ghouta in Syria last Monday, January 22 Mohammed Badra/European Pressphoto Agency

28 January 2018
A gas attack last Monday, on the 22nd January, has left at least 13 civilians dead in Damascus, according to The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights

Eye witnesses said that civilians could be seen fleeing their homes from the rebel held territory, many unable to avoid the deadly chemicals. The Douna Medical Center in East Ghouta claimed that 21 people, including six children, had been admitted to the hospital. However, the suspected number of victims continues to rise.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is seen as a suspect in last week’s attack. In the past, the government operating under the leader had used the nerve agent sarin and chlorine as weapons against civilians, according to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

The recent attack took place in the same area that was hit by the deadliest gas assault in Syrian War History, now more than four years ago. The area has been in conflict for seven years, defying President Bashar al-Assad’s forces since the war’s beginning.

 

For more information, read:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-ghouta/rescuers-in-rebel-held-syrian-area-accuse-government-of-gas-attack-idUSKBN1FB135
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/23/world/middleeast/syria-chemical-weapons-ghouta.html

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