Syria state TV: 50 injured in rebel poison gas attack

DAMASCUS, Syria — At least 50 civilians were being treated on Saturday following a suspected poison gas attack by Syrian rebel groups on the government-held northern city of Aleppo, according to reports in Syrian state media.

Most of those admitted to hospitals had breathing problems and blurred vision, doctors told state TV. One doctor said two people were in critical condition, including a child. State TV showed footage of medical professionals treating men and women on hospital beds.

There was a stench of gas in Aleppo after projectiles were fired, said Rami Abdurrahman, the head of Britainbased Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Syria’s foreign ministry called on the United Nations to “immediately and strongly condemn these terrorist crimes”.

However, rebel commanders and opposition figures denied the allegation and accused Damascus of seeking to undermine an existing cease-fire and efforts to kickstart political talks.

Earlier on Saturday, government shelling of a rebel-held area in neighboring Idlib province killed at least seven civilians.

In Aleppo, local governor Hussein Diab visited the injured at the hospital. He told state TV that 41 people had been admitted and accused rebels of using poisonous gas in the missiles they lobbed at the Aleppo neighborhood.

Health official Haj Taha later said the number of injured was up to 50, adding that symptoms suggest the gas used was chlorine. Further tests are needed, he said.

Other reports claimed at least 100 people were injured.

There are often missiles on the city but this is the first time we smelled such a smell.”

One of the injured patients talking about the missiles that landed in Aleppo’s al-Khalidiya neighborhood

The projectiles landed in the al-Khalidiya neighborhood, and wind caused gas to spread, Aleppo police chief Essam al-Shali told state TV. State TV later said the gas affected two other areas in the city. There were no deaths reported, Shali said.

One patient said a foul smell filled the air after the projectiles landed. “There are often missiles on the city but this is the first time we smelled such a smell,” the patient said without giving his name.

A cease-fire in Aleppo and Idlib has been fraying in recent days. Aleppo has come under rebel attack in recent weeks, with missiles falling inside the city. The government has responded with counter attacks on rebel-held areas in the countryside.

Earlier on Saturday, rescue works and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said government shells landed in Jarjanaz, a rebel-held town in Idlib province, hitting students as they were leaving their school. The shelling killed eight, including six children, according to the civil defense team in the opposition-held area.