Activists claim government warplanes have dropped bombs laced with chlorine gas on a rebel-held area in the Syrian city of Aleppo.
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More than 70 people were left choking on Tuesday after regime helicopters dropped barrel bombs on a rebel-held district of the war-ravaged city, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Although the chemical attack has not been verified by independent monitors, the respiratory problems reported by activists and residents on the ground indicate the use of chlorine gas, which is banned by worldwide conventions.
Videos posted online by activist groups showed children and adults with breathing difficulties receiving treatment in local clinics.
Its 12th report said the cessation of hostilities in February had allowed some towns to receive their first aid in years but it only lasted a few weeks.
Syrian Civil Defense, a volunteer rescue group popularly known as the White Helmets, reported that at least 80 people suffered breathing problems from the sickening attack.
A team of worldwide inspectors determined in late August that the Syrian government and Islamic State militants were responsible for chemical attacks carried out in 2014 and 2015.
A United Nations investigation in late August found that chemical weapons had been used in Syria, both by the national air force and ISIS militants.
However, the deal did not remove stocks of chlorine, a dual-use chemical that has industrial applications but can also be used as a crude chemical weapon, delivered by improvised barrel bomb.
President Obama warned in 2012 he might use military force against Syria if Assad crossed the “red line” of using chemical weapons in the country’s civil war.
Russia, a close Syrian government ally, has blocked sanctions against President Bashar Assad’s government. If there is any clearer violation of the chemical weapons treaty, I haven’t seen it.
Most of those injured were women and children.
Chlorine gas is a crude weapon that can be fatal in high concentrations.
“We have received reliable information concerning the use of chlorine gas in Sheikh Maqsoud neighbourhood of Aleppo city, particularly at the beginning of April, on the 5th, with various people being taken to hospital for chlorine gas inhalation symptoms”. The UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria said it was looking into an incident from August.
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Government forces put eastern Aleppo under siege on Sunday for a second time since July after advancing against rebels on the city’s outskirts.
