AFP
August 22, 2013 8:26AM
THE images showed lifeless children - wrapped in simple white cloths, their pale faces unmarked by any wound - lined up shoulder to shoulder in a vivid demonstration of an attack Wednesday in which activists say the Syrian regime killed at least 1300 people with toxic gas.
The Syrian government adamantly denied using chemical weapons in an artillery barrage targeting suburbs east of Damascus, calling the allegations "absolutely baseless.''
The US, Britain and France demanded that a team of UN experts already in the country be granted immediate access to investigate the claims.
Videos and photographs showed row upon row of bodies wrapped in white shrouds lying on a tile floor, including many children. There was little evidence of blood or conventional injuries and most appeared to have suffocated.
Survivors of the purported attack, some twitching uncontrollably, lay on gurneys with oxygen masks covering their faces.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's office said he was "shocked'' by the reports and that UN weapons experts in Syria to probe previous allegations were in discussions with Damascus.
Security Council members France, Britain, the United States, Luxembourg and South Korea requested the meeting, which was held behind closed doors.
Britain, France, Germany and the United States sent a formal request for an investigation of the incident to Ban's office, citing ''credible reports of the use of chemical weapons'' in a letter
Western governments demanded immediate access for the inspectors to investigate the new allegations. Russia, a longstanding ally of the Damascus regime, echoed the call for an inquiry but said it suspected a ''provocation'' by the opposition and its foreign backers.
The White House said it's "deeply concerned" about reports that chemical weapons were used by Syria's government against civilians.
Videos distributed by activists, the authenticity of which could not immediately be verified, showed medics attending to suffocating children and hospitals being overwhelmed.
More footage showed dozens of people laid out on the ground, among them many children, many covered in white sheets.
Ghazwan Bwidany, a doctor treating the injured, told the BBC the main symptom, especially among children, was suffocation, as well as salivating and blurred vision.
In this citizen journalism image provided by the Local Committee of Arbeen, a man and woman mourn over the dead bodies of Syrian men after an alleged poisonous gas attack fired by regime forces that killed 1300 people, including many children. Picture: AP .
"We don't have the capability to treat all this number of people," he said.
Opposition sources accused the army of multiple chemical weapons strikes -- one in Moadamiyet al-Sham, southwest of Damascus, and more in the capital's eastern suburbs.
The Local Coordination Committees (LCC), a network of activists, reported hundreds of casualties in the "brutal use of toxic gas by the criminal regime''.
And in videos posted on YouTube, the Syrian Revolution General Commission, another activist group, showed what it called "a terrible massacre committed by regime forces with toxic gas.''
In one video, children are seen being given first aid in a field hospital, notably oxygen to help them breathe. Doctors appear to be trying to resuscitate unconscious children.
Other images - distributed by the oppisition Shaam News Network - show lines of uncovered bodies, many of them children.
Another video posted on YouTube showed what it said was a case of hysteria following a chemical strike in the eastern suburbs.
A young girl held her head in her hands and frantically repeated "I'm alive'', as a man in a white coat tried to comfort her.
A handout image released by the Syrian opposition's Shaam News Network shows people inspecting bodies of children and adults laying on the ground as Syrian rebels claim they were killed in a toxic gas attack. .
Specialists in the impact of chemical weapons said the video evidence was not entirely convincing.
"At the moment, I am not totally convinced because the people that are helping them are without any protective clothing and without any respirators,'' said Paula Vanninen, director of Verifin, the Finnish Institute for Verification of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
"In a real case, they would also be contaminated and would also be having symptoms.''
John Hart, head of the Chemical and Biological Security Project at Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said he had not seen the telltale evidence in the eyes of the victims that would be compelling evidence of chemical weapons use.
Citizen journalism image provided by Aleppo Media Center AMC which has been authenticated shows a Syrian boy holding an Arabic placard that reads: "if Syria's children bled petrol, the entire world would have intervened," during a demonstration against the alleged chemical weapons attack at the suburbs of Damascus. (AP Photo/Aleppo Media Center, AMC) .
"Of the videos that I've seen for the last few hours, none of them show pinpoint pupils... this would indicate exposure to organophosphorus nerve agents,'' he said.
The opposition National Coalition's George Sabra said more than 1300 people had been killed in what he described as a "coup de grace that kills all hopes for a political solution in Syria''.
"The Syrian regime is mocking the UN and the great powers when it strikes targets near Damascus, while the (UN weapons inspectors) are just a few steps away,'' he said.
State news agency SANA said "reports on the use of chemical weapons in Ghouta (the Damascus suburbs) are totally false. It's an attempt to prevent the UN commission of inquiry from carrying out its mission.''
The UN Security Council met to discuss the allegations as UN officials said that talks were already under way with President Bashar al-Assad's government on securing access to the alleged attack sites.
The head of the UN inspection mission, Aake Sellstroem, was ``in discussions with the Syrian government on all issues pertaining to the alleged use of chemical weapons, including this most recent reported incident,'' a statement said.
Washington demanded that the inspectors be given unfettered access.
"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,'' said White House spokesman Josh Earnest.
A Syrian military soldier holds his AK-47 with a sticker of Syrian President Bashar Assad and Arabic that reads, "Syria is fine." Syrian opposition groups claimed scores have died in which some activists say regime troops used "poisonous gas." .
Washington has previously described chemical weapons use as a red line that might prompt it to intervene militarily in Syria.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said: "I hope this will wake up some who have supported the Assad regime, to realise its murderous and barbaric nature.''
Moscow, which has said it has proof of chemical weapons use by the rebels in March, expressed scepticism about the opposition's claims.
The foreign ministry said the timing of the allegations as UN inspectors began their work "`makes us think that we are once again dealing with a premeditated provocation.''
The heavy bombing on the outskirts of the capital could be heard by residents of Damascus, where a grey cloud capped the sky.
The Britain-based Observatory, which relies on a vast network of activists on the ground and medics, said the army operation was aimed at the recapture of Madhamiyat el-Sham, an area southwest of Damascus.
The Syrian Observatory called for inspectors to hastily visit the stricken sites and ensure access for medical aid.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon insisted Monday that the inspectors be granted unrestricted access to Syrian sites where chemical weapons have allegedly been used in the country's 29-month-old conflict.
The inspectors, expected to visit three sites including Khan al-Assal near Aleppo in the north, are due to be in Syria for 14 days, with the possibility for an extension of the mission.
Read more: http://www.news.com.au/world-news/chemical-attack-in-syria-kills-1300-the-opposition-says-of-the-damascus-regime/story-fndir2ev-1226701659386#ixzz2ce7juLFl
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