Third chemical attack hits rebel Syrian area
‘ONLY THE SUN CAN PROTECT US. THE (WORLD) HAS ABANDONED US’
Abesieged neighbourhood in Syria appeared Thursday to have suffered a chemical attack — the third in as many weeks — as Bashar Assad’s regime increases pressure on the last remaining rebel strongholds. Missiles hit Douma, in the Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta, in the early morning, reportedly spreading chlorine gas over the area. More than 20 civilians, including children, and a civil defence worker were taken to hospital with breathing difficulties. The Trump administration on Thursday accused Assad’s government of producing and using chemical weapons despite committing to abolish its program in 2013, and insisted the world must find a way to stop it. Douma local council accused the Assad regime of “the deliberate targeting of populated areas using surface-to-surface missiles loaded with chlorine.” “Today Douma woke up breathing chlorine in the western neighbourhoods,” said a nurse in the area. “Only the sun can protect us. The international community has abandoned us.” Firas Abdullah, an opposition activist, posted videos on social media of himself covering his mouth with a scarf as he examined the cases of three missiles. Elliot Higgins, a U.K.-based weapons analyst, said the serial numbers indicated they were from the same batch as those used in a Jan 22 attack on the same area. Almost 400,000 people in Eastern Ghouta have been under siege by the government and allied militia since 2013. It is the last major rebel position near the capital and was the site of the deadliest chemical attack by regime forces, in 2013. America has warned the Syrian government there would be “consequences” over its illegal use of chemical weapons. Rex Tillerson, the secretary of state, said last week that Washington had seen evidence of several chemical attacks in recent weeks. But no action has been taken against the regime, despite numerous United Nations reports pointing to its responsibility.
On Thursday, U.S. officials said it was “highly likely” that Assad kept a hidden stockpile of weapons after 2013, but that recent alleged attacks also suggested an “evolving” program to make “new kinds of weapons” — either to improve their military capability or to escape international accountability. President Donald Trump hasn’t ruled out the possibility of additional military action to deter attacks or punish Assad, according to the officials. Years of efforts by two U.S. presidents have failed to end the harrowing reports on chemical weapons use in Syria. Under President Barack Obama, the United States stopped short of striking Assad’s forces in response, but brokered a deal with Russia to rid Syria of its stockpiles. After another alleged attack in April 2017, Trump ordered a retaliatory missile strike, but 10 months later, the U.S. and international observers say the weapons are still used. More recent attacks have involved both chlorine, which has nonchemical uses and is easier to acquire, and the more sophisticated chemical sarin, the officials said. They said that in recent years, Assad has adjusted his tactics to reduce the chances that attacks will be attributed to his forces. That has made evidence-collection more difficult, though the U.S. believes it has a firm understanding of the extent of chemical use in Syria through a combination of intelligence, sample testing by third countries, and social media and other open-source information, the officials said. Though ISIL no longer controls large parts of Syria or Iraq, the officials said the extremist group continues to use sulphur mustard, via artillery shells, and chlorine, delivered by improvised explosive devices. The officials noted that the underlying chemicals are easy to acquire or produce, and said the U.S. does not believe ISIL has gotten ahold of military stockpiles in either Iraq or Syria. Reports of chemical attacks have continued to stream in from Syria, including as recently as Thursday, when rescue workers in the rebel-held Damascus suburb of Douma reported what they described as a suspected chlorine gas attack that injured a number of civilians. The opposition-run Ghouta Media Center reported in a posting on its Facebook page that three people were killed and dozens suffered shortness of breath as a result of surface to surface missiles, some of them carrying chlorine gas.