Syrian Regime Accused Of Using Chlorine Gas Against Civilians

Accusations of chemical attacks have been a fixture of the Syrian conflict with both the government and rebels blaming the other during the past five years.

The government campaign to retake Ramousah and its surroundings, backed by intense aerial bombardment, also included a push on parts of the countryside to its immediate southwest, where the army and its allies took a strategic hilltop last week.

The two at the market were among at least seven people killed and 40 injured in the latest strikes on the Sukkari neighborhood, the activist with the Aleppo Media Center said.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said a year ago that he was “absolutely certain” the Syrian government had attacked its own people with chlorine – an accusation the regime has denied.

At least one person reportedly died. Video posted online by the White Helmets showed young children wheezing and breathing into oxygen masks.

There has been another reported chemical weapon attack in Syria.

The attack was the latest in the months-long offensive by the Syrian government, with Russian backing, to wrest the city from rebel control. The city has always been divided between government and opposition-controlled areas.

In a “flash update ” on Tuesday, the aid agency, OCHA, said figures from a camp co-ordination group show almost half of the displaced from Hama have arrived in the neighbouring rebel-held Idlib province.

According to a report by the Syrian Center for Policy Research, the conflict has claimed the lives of over 470,000 people, injured 1.9 million others, and displaced almost half of the country’s pre-war population of about 23 million within or beyond its borders.

A group representing Syria’s opposition has unveiled plans for a political transition created to bring an end to the ruinous civil war, calling for the departure of President Bashar al-Assad after six months and for elections to be held after two years. The proposal then calls for Syria’s political and armed opposition factions to form an 18-month interim government that would rule until democratic elections can be held.

HNC chief Riad Hijab says this would be followed by the establishment of a transitional governing body and the departure of Assad “and his clique”.

In the United Kingdom, the High Negotiations Committee of the Syrian Opposition, or HNC, met Wednesday to lay out a framework for a political transition in Syria.

“I can say that the Secretary remains committed to continuing efforts to try and resolve the remaining, or outstanding, issues in order to reach an arrangement on Syria that will put in place a durable ceasefire, cessation of hostilities, provide humanitarian access to all areas and lead to a resumption of talks between parties in Geneva”, added Tone.

He says after 18 months there should be United Nations -supervised elections.

The committee’s leader, Riyad Hijab, a former Syrian prime minister who defected after a crackdown on protests that began in 2011, laid out the plan in London at a meeting of countries supporting the opposition.