SyriaAs many as 1,400 killed in a suspected chemical attack in Syria (updated)
Rebel sources say the number of dead in a Syrian army chemical weapons attack, which targeted a dozen villages in a rebel-held area east of Damascus, has reached 1,400. The Syrian government admitted launching a major military offensive against rebels in the area – both rebels and government sources say it is the largest military operation since the beginning of the war — but strongly rejected the allegations about chemical weapons use by the Syrian army. The Israeli defense minister, in the first official Israeli reaction, confirms the Syrian military used chemical weapons. Chemical weapons experts say there are two other possibilities: the Syrian regime may have used crowd-dispersal chemicals in higher-than-usual concentration, causing death among people trapped in bunkers and shelters; or the army may have used fuel-air bombs in bombing Sunny residential areas. Such bombs, also called thermobaric explosives, rely on oxygen from the surrounding air, unlike most conventional explosives which consist of a fuel-oxidizer premix.
Rebel sources say the number of dead in the attacks, which targeted a dozen villages in a rebel-held area east of Damascus, has reached 1,400. They say it is not possible to offer precise numbers because some areas are not yet accessible.
The attack on the Ghouta region started shortly after 2:00 a.m. and targeted three districts — Ein Tarma, Zermalka, and Jobar — all rebel strongholds for the past year.
The Syrian government admitted launching a major military offensive against rebels in the area – both rebels and government sources say it is the largest military operation since the beginning of the war – but it strongly rejected the allegations about chemical weapons use by the Syrian army.
A UN inspection team arrived in Damascus this week to look into earlier claims of chemical weapon use by the Syrian regime – specifically, three attacks on 19 March — but the Syrian government delayed the arrival of the inspection team by four months, and then granted permission for the team to enter Syria with a limited mission to investigate only three specific sites. An expanded mandate to investigate Wednesday’s attack in eastern Ghouta — only ten miles from the team’s hotel — must be sought by the UN secretary general and then approved by Syria.
The United States moved quickly to make the formal request. The White House said: “For the UN’s efforts to be credible they must have immediate access to witnesses and affected individuals, and have the ability to examine and collect physical evidence without any interference or manipulation from the Syrian government. If the Syrian government has nothing to hide and is truly committed to an impartial and credible investigation of chemical weapons use in Syria, it will facilitate the UN team’s immediate and unfettered access to this site.”
Ralf Trapp, a consultant on chemical and biological weapons, told the Guardian that getting access to the scenes of the attacks was paramount for inspectors. “The logical thing to do would be to go in and start interviewing doctors and getting blood and urine samples.
