Assad has denied previous accusations of using chemical weapons.
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The United Nations said the encirclement of rebel-held areas of deeply divided Aleppo traps almost 300,000 residents, making it the largest besieged area in war-torn Syria.
A video posted to YouTube apparently showed several men struggling to breathe in the aftermath.
“Medium-sized barrels fell containing toxic gases”.
Residents in western Aleppo say prices of basic staples and goods have risen overnight as people try to stockpile goods in anticipation of a possible siege.
The Syrian government and its Russian allies were not immediately available for comment.
A total of six hospitals were bombed by Syrian regime warplanes in Aleppo the week between July 23 and July 31, marking the worst week for attacks on medical facilities the city has seen since the war began in 2011, US-based rights group Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) said on Wednesday. It gave no further details. Rebels and activists have reported chlorine gas attacks in the town before, but the lack of chemical labs or independent testers makes it hard to verify these claims.
Chemical weapons have also been put to use, with the Assad regime narrowly avoiding a U.S. intervention by surrendering its chemical arsenal after hundreds were killed by a chemical attack on the opposition-held Damascus suburb of Ghouta in 2013. “The Syrian Civil Defence was not able to determine the type of the gas”.
The Russian Ministry of Defense also confirmed that the attack in Aleppo was launched by a Takfiri terrorist group.
Giving people who want to leave Syria’s Aleppo the possibility of doing so through humanitarian corridors is important but it is not a substitute for on-the-ground humanitarian access, a spokeswoman for Mercy Corps, a global humanitarian aid agency, told Sputnik, commenting on the opening in late July of three humanitarian corridors for civilians and one for militants wishing to lay down arms by Russian Federation and Syria.
There has been no independent confirmation of the claim. “Certainly, if it’s true, it would be extremely serious”.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said government forces seized two hilltops and two small villages in the southwest suburbs of Aleppo late Tuesday.
The incident took place close to where Russian Federation said on Monday one of its military helicopters was shot down, killing the five people on board. Last month, forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad imposed a siege on Aleppo’s rebel-controlled neighbourhoods after they blocked all supply routes into those areas, raising fears of a humanitarian disaster there.
However, the Syrian Center for Policy Research, an NGO, has put the total death toll from conflict – now in its sixth year – at more than 470,000. They believed chlorine gas was used, but could not confirm it.
Wednesday’s edition of Al Watan, a newspaper close to the government, said government forces, backed by Russian air strikes, “advanced again south and southwest of Aleppo causing major setbacks” for rebel factions.
United Nations investigators established that sarin gas was used in Eastern Ghouta in 2013.
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When asked if the US believed that this was Moscow’s intention, a senior State Department official said, “It’s hard to know what their ultimate goal is”.
