Dozens killed in apparent chemical weapons attack on civilians in Syria, rescue workers say
Syrian doctors and rescue workers reported on April 7 that dozens of people had died in an apparent chemical attack in Douma in eastern Ghouta.
ISTANBUL — Syrian doctors and rescue workers said Sunday that dozens of people had died in an apparent chemical attack on a besieged enclave near Damascus as government forces escalated their offensive to recapture one of the last rebel strongholds near the capital.
At least 40 people were killed Saturday evening in the attack in Douma in Eastern Ghouta, about 12 miles from Damascus, according to the Syrian-American Medical Society (SAMS), a Washington-based nonprofit group that supports health facilities in the area.
More than 500 people “were brought to local medical centers with symptoms indicative of exposure to a chemical agent,” SAMS said in a joint statement with the opposition-linked Syria Civil Defense, a group of first responders. The patients showed signs of respiratory distress, with many foaming at the mouth and emitting a “chlorine-like odor,” they said.
President Trump responded to the attack Sunday morning on Twitter.
“Many dead, including women and children, in mindless CHEMICAL attack in Syria,” he said. “Area of atrocity is in lockdown and encircled by Syrian Army, making it completely inaccessible to outside world. President Putin, Russia and Iran are responsible for backing Animal Assad. Big price ...”
Regarding a possible U.S. response, White House homeland security and counterterrorism adviser Thomas Bossert said, “I wouldn’t take anything off the table.”
“We’re looking into the attack,” he said in an interview on ABC’s “This Week” set to air Sunday.
Syrian state media denied government involvement. Russia’s Foreign Ministry also dismissed claims that Syrian troops were responsible. Russia is a key backer of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The allegations are “without basis” and are “designed to shield the terrorists . . . who reject a political settlement,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
Earlier, the State Department singled out the Syrian and Russian governments, saying they “must be held accountable.” Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert described the reports from Eastern Douma as “disturbing and “horrifying,” saying they required an “immediate response by the international community.”
Multiple reports, including from rescue workers and the State Department, said the initial attack targeted a hospital. The chemicals then spread to surrounding residential areas, they said. It was unclear, however, what type of chemicals may have been used
This image released by the Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets, shows a child receiving oxygen through respirators following an alleged poison gas attack in the rebel-held town of Douma, near Damascus, Syria. (Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets/AP)
A representative for the United Nations said that Secretary General António Guterres was “particularly alarmed by allegations that chemical weapons have been used against civilian populations in Douma” but that the United Nations was “not in a position to verify these reports.”
Syrian doctors and rescue workers on Sunday shared with journalists graphic images of men, women and children who they said had been killed or wounded in the attack.
“We tried to send people to the area to rescue the injured, but even the rescue workers began suffocating,” said Mohamed Samer, a medical worker in Douma.
Some of the footage showed piles of bodies inside homes or slumped in concrete stairwells, foam visible on their noses and mouths. In other videos, civilians are shown streaming onto a chaotic field clinic where workers are attempting to treat those affected, including an ashen-faced man who appeared to convulse.
Many of the images recalled earlier chemical weapons attacks on civilians in Syria, including those involving the nerve agent sarin. A year ago, nearly 100 people were killed in a sarin attack in the northern town of Khan Sheikhounthat the United Nations has blamed on the Syrian air force. In 2013, also in Eastern Ghouta, a sarin attack killed more than 1,000 people — an event that prompted then-President Barack Obama to threaten military action against the Syrian government.
SAMS and the Syria Civil Defense reported Sunday that at least one woman had convulsions and constricted pupils, which experts say indicate possible exposure to a nerve agent.
More than 1,700 people have been killed in Eastern Ghouta, of which Douma is the largest city, since the Syrian army and allied Russian forces began a punishing assault in February to rout rebels from the area.
A U.N. Security Council resolution failed to quell the fighting, and over the past month, more than 130,000 Syrians have left Eastern Ghouta as part of evacuation deals between rebels and government forces, the United Nations said.
As many as 150,000 people remain in Douma, where the humanitarian situation is “severe” and food commodities are “in short supply,” according to the U.N. Organization for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
March 15 was the last time an aid convoy reached Douma.
The latest attack, however, comes after a temporary cease-fire collapsed between the opposition Jaish al-Islam group and pro-government forces. The two sides reportedly could not agree on conditions for the disarmament and evacuation of opposition fighters. On Sunday, state TV announced that a deal had been reached to evacuate all fighters to northern Syria, where much of the opposition remains in control.
Since Friday, the government has intensified its air and artillery strikes on Douma, killing civilians and destroying and damaging civilian infrastructure, the United Nations said. Rescue workers and local activists said government bombardment had left scores dead.
In response, Jaish al-Islam has launched volleys of rockets into densely populated Damascus districts, killing or maiming residents.
“I am living the toughest moments of my life,” said one medical worker in Douma, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for security reasons. He said the bombardment has been so intense in recent days that he has been unable to reach his family in Douma.
“Everyone is too scared to go out,” he said.
A victory for government forces in Douma would deal a significant blow to the armed rebellion against Assad, whose government has wielded brutal force to snuff out a years-long uprising.
Eastern Ghouta was one of the first areas near Damascus to revolt in 2011.
Suzan Haidamous and Asma Ajroudi in Beirut, Amie Ferris-Rotman in Moscow and Jenna Johnson in Washington contributed to this report.
Syrian doctors and rescue workers reported on April 7 that dozens of people had died in an apparent chemical attack in Douma in eastern Ghouta.
ISTANBUL — Syrian doctors and rescue workers said Sunday that dozens of people had died in an apparent chemical attack on a besieged enclave near Damascus as government forces escalated their offensive to recapture one of the last rebel strongholds near the capital.
At least 40 people were killed Saturday evening in the attack in Douma in Eastern Ghouta, about 12 miles from Damascus, according to the Syrian-American Medical Society (SAMS), a Washington-based nonprofit group that supports health facilities in the area.
More than 500 people “were brought to local medical centers with symptoms indicative of exposure to a chemical agent,” SAMS said in a joint statement with the opposition-linked Syria Civil Defense, a group of first responders. The patients showed signs of respiratory distress, with many foaming at the mouth and emitting a “chlorine-like odor,” they said.
President Trump responded to the attack Sunday morning on Twitter.
In a series of tweets on the morning of April 8, President Trump condemned an apparent chemical attack near Damascus on April 7.
Regarding a possible U.S. response, White House homeland security and counterterrorism adviser Thomas Bossert said, “I wouldn’t take anything off the table.”
“We’re looking into the attack,” he said in an interview on ABC’s “This Week” set to air Sunday.
Syrian state media denied government involvement. Russia’s Foreign Ministry also dismissed claims that Syrian troops were responsible. Russia is a key backer of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The allegations are “without basis” and are “designed to shield the terrorists . . . who reject a political settlement,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
Earlier, the State Department singled out the Syrian and Russian governments, saying they “must be held accountable.” Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert described the reports from Eastern Douma as “disturbing and “horrifying,” saying they required an “immediate response by the international community.”
Multiple reports, including from rescue workers and the State Department, said the initial attack targeted a hospital. The chemicals then spread to surrounding residential areas, they said. It was unclear, however, what type of chemicals may have been used
This image released by the Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets, shows a child receiving oxygen through respirators following an alleged poison gas attack in the rebel-held town of Douma, near Damascus, Syria. (Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets/AP)Syrian doctors and rescue workers on Sunday shared with journalists graphic images of men, women and children who they said had been killed or wounded in the attack.
“We tried to send people to the area to rescue the injured, but even the rescue workers began suffocating,” said Mohamed Samer, a medical worker in Douma.
Some of the footage showed piles of bodies inside homes or slumped in concrete stairwells, foam visible on their noses and mouths. In other videos, civilians are shown streaming onto a chaotic field clinic where workers are attempting to treat those affected, including an ashen-faced man who appeared to convulse.
SAMS and the Syria Civil Defense reported Sunday that at least one woman had convulsions and constricted pupils, which experts say indicate possible exposure to a nerve agent.
More than 1,700 people have been killed in Eastern Ghouta, of which Douma is the largest city, since the Syrian army and allied Russian forces began a punishing assault in February to rout rebels from the area.
A U.N. Security Council resolution failed to quell the fighting, and over the past month, more than 130,000 Syrians have left Eastern Ghouta as part of evacuation deals between rebels and government forces, the United Nations said.
As many as 150,000 people remain in Douma, where the humanitarian situation is “severe” and food commodities are “in short supply,” according to the U.N. Organization for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
March 15 was the last time an aid convoy reached Douma.
The latest attack, however, comes after a temporary cease-fire collapsed between the opposition Jaish al-Islam group and pro-government forces. The two sides reportedly could not agree on conditions for the disarmament and evacuation of opposition fighters. On Sunday, state TV announced that a deal had been reached to evacuate all fighters to northern Syria, where much of the opposition remains in control.
Since Friday, the government has intensified its air and artillery strikes on Douma, killing civilians and destroying and damaging civilian infrastructure, the United Nations said. Rescue workers and local activists said government bombardment had left scores dead.
In response, Jaish al-Islam has launched volleys of rockets into densely populated Damascus districts, killing or maiming residents.
“I am living the toughest moments of my life,” said one medical worker in Douma, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for security reasons. He said the bombardment has been so intense in recent days that he has been unable to reach his family in Douma.
“Everyone is too scared to go out,” he said.
A victory for government forces in Douma would deal a significant blow to the armed rebellion against Assad, whose government has wielded brutal force to snuff out a years-long uprising.
Eastern Ghouta was one of the first areas near Damascus to revolt in 2011.
Suzan Haidamous and Asma Ajroudi in Beirut, Amie Ferris-Rotman in Moscow and Jenna Johnson in Washington contributed to this report.
