Suspected chemical attack ‘kills dozens’ in Syria’s Douma

A suspected chemical attack in Douma, the last revolt-held metropolis in Syria’s Eastern Ghouta, has killed no lower than forty folk and affected hundreds, residents and activists possess urged Al Jazeera.

The White Helmets, a community of rescuers working in opposition-held areas in Syria, mentioned on Saturday that many of the fatalities were girls and children.

One member of the community urged Al Jazeera that a complete family had suffocated to loss of life as they hid of their cellar, attempting to peek safe haven from air raids and barrel bombs.

Pro-government forces and their allies on Friday launched a fierce air and floor offensive on Douma, the last closing revolt stronghold terminate to the Syrian capital, Damascus.

Moayed al-Dayrani, a resident of Douma and medical volunteer, urged Al Jazeera that the loss of life toll used to be anticipated to raise as doctors were struggling to reach the total victims.

« Douma has been field to intense air strikes and much of the metropolis is destroyed, » he mentioned.

« We are within the intervening time facing more than 1,000 cases of folk struggling to breathe after the chlorine barrel bomb used to be dropped on the metropolis. The selection of unimaginative will doubtlessly upward thrust even further. »

Syrian philosophize media denied government forces had old chemical weapons. 

The Douma Media Centre, a talented-opposition community, posted photos on social media of folk being handled by medics and of what looked as if it could perchance presumably be unimaginative our bodies, along side many ladies and children.

Rescue workers moreover posted videos of folk showing to display signs in conserving with a gasoline attack. Some looked as if it could perchance presumably possess white foam spherical their mouths and noses.

Symptoms of a chlorine attack encompass coughing, dyspnea, intensive irritation of the mucus membrane and notify in respiration.

In most up-to-date years, the Syrian government has been accused of the spend of chemical weapons as a tool in opposition to the armed opposition, an allegation it denies.

At 20:22 on Saturday Seventh April a helicopter dropped a barrel bomb that contained a chemical agent in Douma, an enclave in Eastern Ghouta. forty folk, largely children and girls, had been killed with hundreds being handled at medical centers. #Noimpunity. pic.twitter.com/Te919FoSia

— The White Helmets (@SyriaCivilDef) April 7, 2018

Syria’s philosophize news agency SANA mentioned the heavy bombardment, which shattered 10 days of peaceable, used to be in response to shelling by Jaish al-Islam, the armed community on top of things of Douma, on residential areas in Damascus.

SANA reported that Four folk were killed and fabric wreck used to be introduced on attributable to the shelling. Jaish al-Islam denied the accusation.

Rebels in Eastern Ghouta had managed to retain Syrian militia forces at bay at some level of years of war, but a Four-365 days government siege of the district has led to a humanitarian disaster with extreme shortages of food and medicine.

Final week, two revolt groups reached evacuation deals with the Russian military, which resulted in about 19,000 folk leaving for the northern province of Idlib.

They included fighters from the Faylaq al-Rahman and Ahrar al-Sham revolt groups, their families and various residents.

Rebel groups argued that the evacuation portions to forced displacement, but gave in after weeks of intense bombardment.

Hanan Halimah, a old skool Douma resident, urged Al Jazeera that over 100,000 civilians were mute trapped and unlikely to catch any help as they metropolis had suffered devastating wreck at some level of the most up-to-date government assault.