by Yesim Usluca
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East
DAMASCUS, Syria — Dozens were injured in a suspected chlorine bomb attack by Syrian government forces in the city of Aleppo on Tuesday, September 6th.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights indicated that barrel bombs were allegedly dropped from helicopters by Syrian government forces on a crowded neighborhood. Use of chlorine in weapons is banned by the Chemical Weapons Convention. Chlorine gas can be fatal in high concentrations. In lower doses, it can damage lungs or cause severe breathing difficulties, vomiting and nausea, among other symptoms.
Syrian activists and volunteer emergency rescue workers stated that the attack caused dozens of cases of suffocation and at least one death. The volunteer rescuers noted that individuals in the area were rushed to hospitals due to severe breathing difficulties following the bombing. The victims’ clothing was reported to smell of chlorine and their symptoms were allegedly the same as those experienced in former attacks. These observations led to the suspicions of a chlorine gas attack. According to reports from the affected area, a majority of the injured individuals were women and children, with a pregnant woman being one of the patients in critical care.
Accusations involving use of chlorine and other poisonous gases are not uncommon in Syria’s civil war. An inquiry conducted in August 2016 by the U.N. and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons found that the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad had used toxic chlorine gas in at least two attacks in 2014 and 2015. The U.N. is further investigating an allegation by the Syrian Civil Defense which accused the government of another chlorine attack in August 2016.
The Syrian government is maintaining its position that it has never used chemical weapons. In August 2013, President Assad agreed to surrender and destroy all chemical weapons and facilities. This resolution authorizes militarily enforceable sanctions for use of any chemical weapons in Syria.
For more information, please see:
New York Post — Dozens recovering after suspected chlorine bomb attack in Syria — 7 September 2016
AlJazeera — Aleppo: Syrian forces blamed for ‘chlorine gas attack’ — 7 September 2016
BBC — Syria conflict: Government helicopters ‘drop chlorine’ on Aleppo — 7 September 2016
USA Today — 2 dead, scores wounded in alleged Syrian gas attack — 7 September 2016
