Earlier on Wednesday, the Syrian air force heavily pounded the gathering centers and fortifications of Jeish al-Fatah terrorist group in the Northern part of Hama province, inflicting heavy losses on them.
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Activists and rescuers said at least 70 people were treated for breathing difficulties after government helicopters dropped the suspected chlorine cylinders on al-Sukkari neighborhood.
Medical workers in the city have said the opposition-controlled neighbourhood was hit with chlorine gas on Tuesday, though the report could not be independently verified.
Russia, a key ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad, has been conducting airstrikes to bolster his forces for almost a year. The Russians and the Syrian government are the only two operating in the skies over the city.
Fighting in Syria’s Hama governorate displaced an estimated 100,000 people between August 28 and September 5, the United Nations said in on Wednesday, citing the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and the governor of the province.
In a “flash update”, the Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) said figures from a camp co-ordination group show that almost half of those displaced had arrived in neighbouring Idlib province. It called for Assad’s departure after six months and for elections to be held under the auspices of a transitional government after two years.
Hijab concedes there are formidable obstacles hindering implementation of the plan.
Many people had fled from the fighting towards Hama city and neighbouring villages, as well as north into Idlib province, the United Nations said.
A group representing Syria’s opposition has unveiled plans for a political transition created to bring an end to the ruinous civil war, calling for the departure of President Bashar al-Assad after six months and for elections to be held after two years.
The relatively new British foreign minister will host a Friends of Syria meeting in London later on Wednesday.
Others fled toward government-controlled Hama city, where four mosques were converted into temporary shelters, OCHA said.
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Associated Press writers Nataliya Vasilyeva in Moscow, Jamey Keaten in Geneva, Menelaos Hadjicostis in Nicosia, Cyprus, and Robert Burns and Greg Katz in London contributed.
