On April 4, during an air raid carried out in the northern Syria, bombs containing toxic gas were dropped on a residential area, causing the death of at least 58 civilians, including 11 children. In addition to those who died suffocating, a number of survivors suffering the initial symptoms of a chemical attack -- fainting, difficulty breathing and foaming around the mouth -- were quickly taken into a nearby hospital, which was itself bombed a few hours later . Due to the repeated bombing of medical facilities in Syria, hospitals lack the oxygen needed to keep alive survivors of gas attacks, making the delivery of life saving treatment extremely challenging.
The Syrian government and its Russian allies deny any involvement in the attack. The Russian Ministry of Defence claimed that chemical substances were not in the bombs, but rather came from a terrorist warehouse hit during the bombing. While civilian witnesses identified Syrian government’s warplanes during the attack, the Syrian government denies any responsibility.
This is the fourth chemical attack carried out in Syria since 2013, when after a chemical attack perpetrated by the Syrian government, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad submitted to international pressure to eliminate the country’s chemical weapon stockpiles.. Since then, Assad’s government has been found responsible of having violated the treaty at least three times, killing hundreds of civilians.
This latest attack starkly highlights the international community’s failure to protect Syrian civilians. As international law prohibits the use of chemical weapons, the international community is now asked to investigate Tuesday’s attack and to work together to prevent similar crimes against civilians being perpetrated again.
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