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| Syrian Rebels Accuse Government of Chemical Attack | Syrian Rebels Accuse Government of Chemical Attack |
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| BEIRUT, Lebanon — Antigovernment activists accused the Syrian government of pounding areas east of the capital, Damascus, with rockets carrying poison gas early Wednesday, saying that people had been killed in their sleep and that local hospitals were filled with casualties. | |
| Amateur videos posted online showed medics trying to revive people laid out on floors and hospital gurneys with hand-pump respirators, along with images of rooms full of the lifeless bodies. The source of the images could not immediately be verified, and the government of President Bashar al-Assad denied the allegations of a chemical weapons attack. | Amateur videos posted online showed medics trying to revive people laid out on floors and hospital gurneys with hand-pump respirators, along with images of rooms full of the lifeless bodies. The source of the images could not immediately be verified, and the government of President Bashar al-Assad denied the allegations of a chemical weapons attack. |
| It was unclear how many people had been killed, with estimated tolls from activists ranging from the dozens to the hundreds. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which follows the conflict from Britain through a network of contacts inside Syria, said the attacks took place in the suburbs of Zamalka, Ein Terma and Erbeen, all of which are east of Damascus and have a strong rebel presence. | It was unclear how many people had been killed, with estimated tolls from activists ranging from the dozens to the hundreds. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which follows the conflict from Britain through a network of contacts inside Syria, said the attacks took place in the suburbs of Zamalka, Ein Terma and Erbeen, all of which are east of Damascus and have a strong rebel presence. |
| The attacks will undoubtedly increase the pressure on a team sent to Syria by the United Nations to investigate allegations of chemical weapons that was to begin working on Monday. Numerous allegations of chemical weapons use have surfaced during the civil war between the forces of Mr. Assad and rebels seeking his ouster, but none have been verified by outside institutions. | The attacks will undoubtedly increase the pressure on a team sent to Syria by the United Nations to investigate allegations of chemical weapons that was to begin working on Monday. Numerous allegations of chemical weapons use have surfaced during the civil war between the forces of Mr. Assad and rebels seeking his ouster, but none have been verified by outside institutions. |
| Unlike the videos often uploaded after government attacks, the images on Wednesday showed very little blood; few of the patients appeared to have conventional injuries. Most of the victims in the videos appeared to have suffocated. | Unlike the videos often uploaded after government attacks, the images on Wednesday showed very little blood; few of the patients appeared to have conventional injuries. Most of the victims in the videos appeared to have suffocated. |
| In one video, medical workers were shown moving through what appeared to be a room full of apparently lifeless young men in their underclothing. In another, about 80 bodies, including about a dozen children and many women, were laid out on a tile floor. Other videos showed children, one of them motionless and staring, the other seeming to twitch uncontrollably. | In one video, medical workers were shown moving through what appeared to be a room full of apparently lifeless young men in their underclothing. In another, about 80 bodies, including about a dozen children and many women, were laid out on a tile floor. Other videos showed children, one of them motionless and staring, the other seeming to twitch uncontrollably. |
| After months of negotiation with the Syrian government about access to the country, the United Nations said a team of inspectors would investigate three sites, including the village of Khan al-Assal near the northern city of Aleppo, where both sides have accused the other of a chemical attack on March 19 that killed dozens of people. | |
| The location of the other two sites has not been made public, and the United Nations team has said it would only seek to determine if chemical weapons were used, not who used them. | The location of the other two sites has not been made public, and the United Nations team has said it would only seek to determine if chemical weapons were used, not who used them. |
| It was unclear whether the team would investigate the new reported attack. | It was unclear whether the team would investigate the new reported attack. |
| Chemical weapons experts said the symptoms depicted in the video were inconsistent with the use of a conventional chemical weapon, like sarin or mustard gas. | Chemical weapons experts said the symptoms depicted in the video were inconsistent with the use of a conventional chemical weapon, like sarin or mustard gas. |
| Gwyn Winfield, editor of CBRNe World, a professional journal that covers nonconventional weapons, said the images suggested the possible use of a large amount of a crowd-control agent like tear gas in a confined space or a weakened form of a more powerful chemical agent. | |
| In a statement read by a uniformed officer on Syrian state television, the army denied that chemical weapons had been used east of Damascus and said the reports were part of a “media war” designed to prevent Syria from fighting terrorists. The Syrian government regularly refers to the opposition as terrorists. | In a statement read by a uniformed officer on Syrian state television, the army denied that chemical weapons had been used east of Damascus and said the reports were part of a “media war” designed to prevent Syria from fighting terrorists. The Syrian government regularly refers to the opposition as terrorists. |
| The state news service, SANA, also denied that chemical weapons had been used and accused news outlets reporting the allegations of being “partners in the shedding of Syrian blood and supporting terrorism.” It also said the reports sought to “divert the special committee for the investigation of chemical weapons from carrying out its mission.” | The state news service, SANA, also denied that chemical weapons had been used and accused news outlets reporting the allegations of being “partners in the shedding of Syrian blood and supporting terrorism.” It also said the reports sought to “divert the special committee for the investigation of chemical weapons from carrying out its mission.” |
| An activist reached via Skype in Erbeen said the attack began at 2 a.m., when rockets struck surrounding areas. He and his colleagues rushed to evacuate the wounded, and they had to break down doors of homes to get them out. | An activist reached via Skype in Erbeen said the attack began at 2 a.m., when rockets struck surrounding areas. He and his colleagues rushed to evacuate the wounded, and they had to break down doors of homes to get them out. |
| “I saw many children lying on beds as if they were sleeping, but unfortunately they were dead,” said the activist, who gave his name as Abu Yassin. He added that he believed the number of dead was in the hundreds. | “I saw many children lying on beds as if they were sleeping, but unfortunately they were dead,” said the activist, who gave his name as Abu Yassin. He added that he believed the number of dead was in the hundreds. |
| “We thought this regime would not use chemical weapons, at least these days with the presence of the U.N. inspectors,” he said. “It is reckless. The regime is saying, ‘I don’t care.'” | |
| Another activist, who gave only his first name, Mohammed, said he was in Zamalka when the rockets landed. He said he was helping to evacuate the wounded when his eyes started burning, his vision went blurry and he felt dizzy. He said the dead and wounded were taken to hospitals in a number of nearby districts, making it hard for family members to find them. In Zamalka, many of the dead were laid out in front of a mosque where someone called over the loudspeakers for residents to come and identify their relatives. | |
| The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which said dozens of people were killed in the attacks, cited local activists as saying that the rockets had spread poison gas and called on the United Nations and other organizations to investigate the attacks and hold those responsible accountable under international law. | The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which said dozens of people were killed in the attacks, cited local activists as saying that the rockets had spread poison gas and called on the United Nations and other organizations to investigate the attacks and hold those responsible accountable under international law. |
| Louay Mekdad, a media coordinator for the military wing of the opposition Syrian National Council, said the attack showed that Mr. Assad no longer feared being held accountable by the international community. “Bashar al-Assad doesn’t care any longer about red lines since he has already exceeded too many of them while the world has showed no reaction,” Mr. Mekdad said. “This means the alleged lines never existed.” | |
| He said opposition leaders had asked members of the United Nations team to visit the attack sites but that they had said they are waiting for permission from the government. | |
| He called on the United Nations Security Council and international powers to “live up to their moral and historic responsibility” to protect civilians in Syria. “If the international community doesn’t move now, when it is going to move?” he asked. | He called on the United Nations Security Council and international powers to “live up to their moral and historic responsibility” to protect civilians in Syria. “If the international community doesn’t move now, when it is going to move?” he asked. |
| Many noted that the attack came nearly exactly one year after President Obama declared the use of chemical weapons a “red line” that could lead to a stronger American response. American officials in June said they believed that Mr. Assad’s forces had used chemical weapons “on a small scale” several times in the last year, but that did not lead to a substantive change to American involvement in the conflict. Russia, which has strongly backed Mr. Assad, last month accused rebel fighters of using the weapons in Khan al-Assal. | Many noted that the attack came nearly exactly one year after President Obama declared the use of chemical weapons a “red line” that could lead to a stronger American response. American officials in June said they believed that Mr. Assad’s forces had used chemical weapons “on a small scale” several times in the last year, but that did not lead to a substantive change to American involvement in the conflict. Russia, which has strongly backed Mr. Assad, last month accused rebel fighters of using the weapons in Khan al-Assal. |
| In a statement on Wednesday, the British foreign secretary, William Hague, said he was “deeply concerned by reports that hundreds of people, including children, have been killed in airstrikes and a chemical weapons attack on rebel-held areas near Damascus.” | In a statement on Wednesday, the British foreign secretary, William Hague, said he was “deeply concerned by reports that hundreds of people, including children, have been killed in airstrikes and a chemical weapons attack on rebel-held areas near Damascus.” |
| “These reports are uncorroborated and we are urgently seeking more information. But it is clear that if they are verified, it would mark a shocking escalation in the use of chemical weapons in Syria,” he said, urging the Syrian government to allow the United Nations team currently in Syria “immediate access” to the location of the claimed attacks. | “These reports are uncorroborated and we are urgently seeking more information. But it is clear that if they are verified, it would mark a shocking escalation in the use of chemical weapons in Syria,” he said, urging the Syrian government to allow the United Nations team currently in Syria “immediate access” to the location of the claimed attacks. |
| A spokesman for the French Foreign Ministry condemned the “murderous attacks attributed to the Syrian regime in the region of Damascus” in a statement but declined to confirm reports that those attacks involved the use of chemical weapons. The spokesman, Vincent Floreani, said France had called for an inquiry into the “allegations,” but added that Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius would speak further on the situation later Wednesday. | A spokesman for the French Foreign Ministry condemned the “murderous attacks attributed to the Syrian regime in the region of Damascus” in a statement but declined to confirm reports that those attacks involved the use of chemical weapons. The spokesman, Vincent Floreani, said France had called for an inquiry into the “allegations,” but added that Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius would speak further on the situation later Wednesday. |
| A spokeswoman for the European Union’s top foreign policy official, Catherine Ashton, said that the bloc was aware of the reports and was looking into them. The spokeswoman, Maja Kocijancic, added that the union did not have the facilities to verify the use of chemical weapons but that it had repeatedly deplored the humanitarian situation in Syria and urged a political solution. The European Union has also backed the work of the United Nations. | |
| Ake Sellstrom, the head of the United Nations team that is in Syria to investigate the use of chemical weapons, said the reports of the attack merited further investigation, Reuters reported, citing the Swedish news agency TT. “It sounds like something that should be looked into,” he told TT. “It will depend on whether any U.N. member state goes to the secretary general and says we should look at this event. We are in place.” | Ake Sellstrom, the head of the United Nations team that is in Syria to investigate the use of chemical weapons, said the reports of the attack merited further investigation, Reuters reported, citing the Swedish news agency TT. “It sounds like something that should be looked into,” he told TT. “It will depend on whether any U.N. member state goes to the secretary general and says we should look at this event. We are in place.” |
Alan Cowell contributed reporting from London, and Alissa J. Rubin from Paris. | Alan Cowell contributed reporting from London, and Alissa J. Rubin from Paris. |