Rebel forces report massive death toll after Syrian chemical attack

Free Syrian Army says over 1,100 people killed, though others report lower numbers; assault comes as UN inspectors in area to probe for chemical arms use; regime denies reports

By AP and TIMES OF ISRAEL STAFF August 21, 2013, 9:34 am 

This citizen journalism image provided by the Local Committee of Arbeen which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows dead bodies of Syrian citizens in Arbeen, near Damascus, on Wednesday. (photo credit: AP/Local Committee of Arbeen)

This citizen journalism image provided by the Local Committee of Arbeen which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows dead bodies of Syrian citizens in Arbeen, near Damascus, on Wednesday. (photo credit: AP/Local Committee of Arbeen)

Syrian activists close to the country’s opposition claimed hundreds of people were killed in a devastating “poison gas” attack by regime forces outside Damascus Wednesday.

The attack came as UN chemical weapons inspectors were beginning a probe of chemical weapon use in sites around Syria.

There were several differing reports on a death toll. A Free Syrian Army source told Al Arabiya the death toll stood at 1,188, while the Local Coordination Committees said some 785 people were killed. A nurse at an emergency clinic in Douma told Reuters the death toll was at 213, and the head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 40 were confirmed dead and the death toll could reach over 200.

Groups quoted activists as saying that regime forces fired “rockets with poisonous gas heads” in the attack.

The Syrian Observatory said the shelling was intense and hit the eastern suburbs of Zamalka, Arbeen and Ein Tarma. Activists told Reuters that Jobar was also targeted. The areas are largely held by rebel forces.

Rami Abdul-Rahman, the Syrian Observatory chief, said the activists in the area said “poisonous gas” was fired in rockets as well as from the air. He added that regime forces were on a wide offensive on the eastern and western rebel-held suburbs of Damascus.

Mohammed Saeed, an activist in the area, told The Associated Press via Skype that hundreds of dead and injured people were rushed to six makeshift hospitals in the eastern suburbs of Damascus.

“This is a massacre by chemical weapons,” said Saeed. “The visit by the UN team is a joke … Bashar is using the weapons and telling the world that he does not care.”

The use of a chemical agent could not be immediately verified. The government denied it had used chemical weapons, according to a report in the state-run SANA news agency.

In the hours after the attack dozens of videos were posted to YouTube showing reported victims of the attack, including children. Some videos showed dozens of bodies while others showed doctors and others struggling to treat people having seizures. The veracity of the videos could not be immediately verified.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said he was “deeply concerned” by the reports.

The Syrian Observatory called upon the UN team in Syria and all international organizations “to visit the stricken areas and to guarantee that medical and relief supplies reach the people as soon as possible.” It also called for an investigation into the attack.

The Arab League also urged the UN officials currently in Syria to “immediately” travel to the attack site and conduct an investigation.

The 20-member UN team, led by Swedish chemical weapons expert Ake Sellstrom, arrived in Damascus on Sunday to investigate three sites where chemical weapons attacks allegedly occurred: the village of Khan al-Assal just west of the embattled northern city of Aleppo and two other locations being kept secret for security reasons.

The mandate for the planned probe is limited: The team will report on whether chemical weapons were used, and if so which ones, but it will not determine the responsibility for an attack. This has led some commentators to question the value of the investigation.

Syria is said to have one of the world’s largest stockpiles of chemical weapons, including mustard gas and the nerve agent sarin, though it has never admitted possessing such weapons.

Diplomats and chemical weapons experts have raised doubts about whether the experts will find anything since the alleged incidents took place months ago.

The Syrian government initially asked the UN to investigate an alleged chemical weapons attack on March 19 in Khan al Assal, which was captured by the rebels last month. The government and rebels blame each other for the purported attack which killed at least 30 people.

Britain, France and the US followed with allegations of chemical weapons use in Homs, Damascus and elsewhere. UN Mideast envoy Robert Serry told the Security Council last month that the UN has received 13 reports of alleged chemical weapons use in Syria.

August 21, 2013 | 13 Comments »

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  4. @ yamit82:

    I remember my Dad and I were listening to some Nixon tapes and Nixon said,” we better be cafefull or those Jew boys at the DOJ will craw a all over you”. I was stunned, I looked at my Dad,a former member of the DOJ, and he was laughing and slapping his leg. With tears in his eyes Dad said,” and they will, and they will”.
    So, who has the last laugh?

  11. Syrian Rebel Leader Appeals to Israel, US for Help Fighting Assad Regime Following Chemical Attack
    http://www.algemeiner.com/2013/08/22/syrian-rebel-leader-appeals-to-israel-us-for-help-fighting-assad-regime-following-chemical-attack/

    “We trust [Israel] and the United States know exactly what creative ways can help us overcome Assad,” Abu Adnan said. ”We believe they know the weak points of the regime and we look forward to qualitative shelling from Israel, just as it did to Assad’s arms caches at Bksion and Latakia. Any delay on the part of Israel and the United States will only strengthen the radical Islamic forces.”

    sounds like a threat, after all they are the jihadists, is this the stick that accompanies the carrot from the GCC?

    Ma’ariv also cited Mendi Safadi, who once served as chief of staff for Israeli Druze politician Ayoob Kara, and now acts as an intermediary between the rebel forces and diplomatic officials in Israel, explaining that in Syria there are about 500 streams of internal opposition to the official Assad regime. The Association of Rebels in Syria got together only a few months ago in an attempt to bridge the gaps between them, and to unite them in an effort to end the civil war………
    the Assad regime has denied the charges outright, broadcasting on Syrian television: “There are no reports or photographs circulated in the media with any basis in truth.”

    it is curious that the attacks are now to the south and east of damascus, closer than past action to the talked about buffer zone. before this attack i was wondering why they would create a buffer zone where little action was taking place. Now, we have action and grounds for a zone.

  13. Imagine what would be the case if the several tries of Netanyahu to secretly arrange “peace” with Assad would have been successful?
    The coward is one of the most virulent enemies of the Jews in Eretz Israel.
    A JEWISH SPRING is a must, otherwise the liar, conniving item and his gangs will destroy us all.