A suspected chemical attack in rebel-held northwestern Syria killed dozens of civilians including children and left much sicker and gasping, causing widespread outrage. The attack happened in the town of Khan Sheikhun and saw dozens suffer respiratory problems and symptoms including vomiting, fainting and foaming at the mouth, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said. The incident brought swift international condemnation, with the United States, France, and Britain all pointing the finger at Assad. Here’s all we know in five points:
1) If confirmed, the incident reported in the town of Khan Sheikhoun would be the deadliest chemical attack in Syria since sarin gas killed hundreds of civilians in Ghouta near Damascus in August 2013.
2) US President Donald Trump condemned the “intolerable” alleged chemical attack on civilians in Syria and blamed the Bashar al-Assad regime. “Today’s chemical attack in Syria against innocent people, including women and children, is reprehensible and cannot be ignored by the civilized world,” Efe news quoted Trump as saying. Trump said that “heinous actions by the Bashar al-Assad regime are a consequence of the past administration’s weakness and irresolution”, referring to former President Barack Obama, who “said in 2012 that he would establish a ‘red line’ against the use of chemical weapons” in Syria but then “did nothing”.
3) The United States, Britain and France have proposed a United Nations Security Council resolution to condemn a suspected deadly chemical weapons attack in Syria, which diplomats said is likely to be put to a vote on Wednesday.
4) The incident brought swift international condemnation, with the United States, France and Britain all pointing the finger at Assad. The White House condemned what it called a “reprehensible” attack by Assad’s forces.
5) Russia’s military, which has been fighting in support of Assad’s government since September 2015, denied carrying out any strikes near the town.
Khan Sheikhun is in Idlib province, which is largely controlled by an alliance of rebels including former Al-Qaeda affiliate Fateh al-Sham Front. The province is regularly targeted in government and Russian air strikes, and has also been hit by the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group, usually targeting jihadists. The Observatory said 16 people, including 11 children, were killed today by air strikes in Salqin, in north Idlib province.
