Agony in Douma as chemical warfare returns to Syria
As chlorine missiles again rain down on a Syrian neighbourhood, injuring dozens of children and civilians in Douma, Trump administration says Bashar Assad’s chemical weapons attacks must stop.
BEIRUT• A besieged 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, aU. K.-based weapons analyst, said the serial numbers indicate 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 militias 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.
The U.S. 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 Washington had seen evidence of several chemical attacks in recent weeks. But no action has been taken against the regime, despite numerous UN 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.
U.S. 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 Barac kO ba ma, the U.S. 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.