‘Syria chemical’ attack leaves 58 people dead

Khan Sheikhun, Tuesday

At least 58 people have been killed and dozens wounded in a suspected chemical attack on a rebel-held town in north-western Syria, a monitoring group says. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that strikes on Khan Sheikhoun by Syrian government or Russian jets had caused many people to choke.

Later, aircraft fired rockets at local clinics treating survivors, medics and activists said. The Syrian government has repeatedly denied using chemical weapons. If confirmed, it would be one of the deadliest chemical attacks in Syria since the civil war began six years ago.

The warplanes are reported to have attacked Khan Sheikhoun, about 50km south of the city of Idlib, early on Tuesday, when many people were asleep. The Syrian Observatory quoted medics as saying that they had been treating people with symptoms including fainting, vomiting and foaming at the mouth.

Following the news, leaders across the globe condemed the incident and called for investigations. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a phone call with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin Tuesday condemned the attack terming it an “inhuman” strike that could endanger peace talks based in the Kazakh capital.

President Erdogan said this kind of inhuman attack was unacceptable and warned it risked wasting all the efforts within the framework of the Astana process to bring peace to Syria.

France called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council. French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault described the attack as “monstrous” and added: “I have called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.”

Russia on the other hand sought to absolve itself from blame with its military saying their planes did not carry out any strikes near the town of Khan Sheikhun in Syria, where air strikes hit a hospital as doctors treated victims of a suspected chemical attack.

“Planes of the Russian airforce have not carried out any strikes near Khan Sheikhun of Idlib province,” said a statement by the Russian defence ministry. The European Union is However, blaming the Bashar al-Assad regime for the attack. He said al-Assad regime bears “primary responsibility” for a suspected chemical attack.

“Today the news is awful,” Mogherini said in an interview with media organisations in Brussels on the sidelines of a EU-UN conference that was meant to focus on the post-conflict situation in Syria.

“But this is a dramatic reminder that the situation on the ground continues to be dramatic in many parts of Syria,” Mogherini said. There was no immediate comment from the government on Tuesday, but a Syrian military source told Reuters news agency that it “does not and has not” used chemical weapons. - BBC/AFP

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