Hundreds dead in Syrian chemical attack, say activists
Graphic images are trickling out of Syria showing the aftermath of a poison gas attack in the suburbs of Damascus that activists claim wiped out hundreds as they lay sleeping in their beds.
Syrian activists have accused President Bashar al-Assad's forces of launching the nerve gas attack, which could be by far the worst reported use of poison gas in a civil war.
Amateur videos posted online by activists, the authenticity of which could not immediately be verified, showed medics attending to suffocating children and dozens of people laid out on the ground, some of them covered in white sheets.
In one video, children are seen being given first aid in a field hospital, notably oxygen, to help them breathe. Doctors appear to be trying to resuscitate unconscious children.
The claim of a chemical attack, which could not be independently verified, was vehemently denied by the Syrian regime which said it was intended to hinder the mission of UN chemical weapons inspectors now in the country.
It was unclear how many people had been killed, with estimated tolls from activists ranging from the dozens to the hundreds. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which follows the conflict from Britain through a network of contacts inside Syria, said the attacks took place in the eastern suburbs of Damascus which have a strong rebel presence.
The UN Security Council is to hold an emergency session to examine the veracity of the reports that hundreds of civilians have been killed in the chemical weapons attacks.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said his country would refer the charges of a chemical weapons strike to the Security Council. The Arab League urged the inspectors to
visit the site immediately "to see the reality of the situation and investigate the circumstances of this crime." Meanwhile, fighting in strife-hit country has fuelled a mass exodus of refugees into Iraq and risks exploding into a full-blown side conflict. Assad's officials have said they would never use poison gas -- if they had it -- against Syrians. The United States and European allies believe Assad's forces used small amounts of Sarin gas in attacks in the past, which Washington called a 'red line' that justified international military aid for the rebels. Assad's government has responded in the past with accusations that it was the rebels that used chemical weapons, which the rebels deny. Western countries say they do not believe the rebels have access to poison gas. Assad's main global ally Moscow says accusations on both sides must be investigated. Chemical weapons experts said the symptoms depicted in the video were inconsistent with the use of a conventional chemical weapon, like sarin or mustard gas.