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| Syria war: Trump condemns Syria for 'chemical attack' on Douma | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| US President Donald Trump has lashed out at Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his allies Russia and Iran over a suspected chemical attack, saying there will be a "big price to pay". | |
| Scores of people are said to have been killed in an attack on the rebel-held town of Douma on Saturday. | Scores of people are said to have been killed in an attack on the rebel-held town of Douma on Saturday. |
| The UK called for an urgent inquiry while Pope Francis said nothing could justify using chemical weapons. | |
| Both Syria and Russia deny a chemical attack took place. | |
| In a series of tweets, Mr Trump described President Assad as an "animal". | |
| The attack came after Russian talks with the rebels, the Jaish al-Islam group, broke down last week and both sides resumed fighting. | |
| However, according to Syrian state media, a deal was struck with Jaish al-Islam on Sunday to allow them to leave Douma within 48 hours in return for them freeing prisoners. The rebel group has not commented. | |
| Douma is the last rebel bastion in the Eastern Ghouta region outside the capital, Damascus, following a government offensive and other evacuation deals brokered by Russia. | |
| What do we know about the attack? | |
| Earlier, the US state department said the attack, if confirmed, called for an "immediate response by the international community". | |
| It has not been possible to verify independently what actually happened, or the actual number of dead. | |
| The Union of Medical Relief Organizations, a US-based charity that works with Syrian hospitals, told the BBC 70 deaths had been confirmed by the Damascus Rural Specialty Hospital. | |
| A spokeswoman said there were reports of people being treated for symptoms including convulsions and foaming of the mouth, consistent with nerve or mixed nerve and chlorine gas exposure. | |
| However, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 11 people had died of suffocation, adding that it could not say if chemical weapons had been used. | |
| One video, recorded by rescue workers known as the White Helmets, shows a number of men, women and children lying lifeless inside a house, again, many with foam at their mouths. | |
| Other unverified footage shows young children crying as they are treated in a makeshift medical unit. |