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Syrian government denies role; Trump calls Assad ‘animal.’
Killings near Damascus: Suspected poison gas was used to attack the last remaining foothold for the Syrian opposition in the eastern suburbs of Damascus, killing at least 40 people, opposition activists and local rescuers said. The attack on the besieged town of Douma came almost exactly a year after a chemical attack in the northern Syrian town of Khan Sheikhoun killed dozens of people.
BEIRUT — Suspected poison gas was used to attack the last remaining foothold for the Syrian opposition in the eastern suburbs of Damascus, killing at least 40 people, including families found in their homes and shelters, opposition activists and local rescuers said Sunday.
The attack on the besieged town of Douma came almost exactly a year after a chemical attack in the northern Syrian town of Khan Sheikhoun killed dozens of people. That attack prompted the U.S. to launch several dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles at a Syrian air base.
President Donald Trump blamed Syrian government forces for what he called a “mindless CHEMICAL attack” and warned there would be a “big price to pay.” He did not elaborate. In a series of tweets, Trump held Russia and Iran, Syrian President Bashar Assad’s chief sponsors, responsible.
The Syrian government denied the allegations, calling them fabrications.
First responders entering apartments in Douma late Saturday said they found bodies collapsed on floors, some foaming at the mouth. The opposition’s Syrian Civil Defense rescue organization said the victims appeared to have suffocated.
They did not identify the substance used, but the civil defense organization, also known as the White Helmets, and the Syrian American Medical Society, a relief organization, said survivors treated at clinics smelled strongly of chlorine.
Those reports could not be independently verified because of a government blockade around the town.
Hours after the attack, the Army of Islam rebel group agreed to surrender the town and evacuate its fighters to rebel-held northern Syria, Syrian state media reported. The group also agreed to give up its prisoners, a key demand of the government.
The government agreed to halt its assault after three days of indiscriminate air and ground attacks.
“There’s nothing left for civilians and fighters. We don’t have anything to stand fast,” said Haitham Bakkar, an opposition activist inside the town. He spoke to the Associated Press by WhatsApp.
“People now are going out in the streets looking for their loved ones in the rubble,” he said. “And we don’t have any space left to bury them.”
More than 100 buses entered the town Sunday night to transport fighters and their families to Jarablus, a town under the shared control of rebels and Turkey, said Syrian state-affiliated al-Ikhbariya TV.
The preparations follow a pattern of evacuations around the capital and other major Syrian cities as the government reasserts its control after seven years of war.
Human rights groups and U.N. officials say the tactic amounts to forced displacement, a war crime.
The Army of Islam could not be reached for comment.
In tweets Sunday, Trump called Assad an “animal” and delivered a rare personal criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin for supporting him. A top White House aide, asked about the possibility of another U.S. missile strike, said, “I wouldn’t take anything off the table.”
The developments come as Trump has declared his intent to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria in the coming months despite resistance from many of his advisers.
The Syrian Civil Defense group documented 42 fatalities but was impeded from searching further by strong odors that gave rescuers difficulties breathing, said Siraj Mahmoud, a spokesman for the group.
A joint statement by the civil defense group and the medical society said that more than 500 people, mostly women and children, were brought to medical centers complaining of difficulty breathing, foaming at the mouth and burning sensations in the eyes. Some had bluish skin, a sign of oxygen deprivation.