Syrian Forces helicopters 'drop chlorine' on Aleppo

 

Syrian government forces have been accused of dropping barrel bombs containing chlorine from helicopters on a suburb of Aleppo, injuring 80 people.

Volunteer emergency workers say people suffered breathing difficulties after an attack on the Sukkari area.

The reports could not be independently verified. A UN-led inquiry concluded last month the that government had used chlorine on at least two occasions.

The Syrian government has always denied using chemical weapons.
It comes as Syrian opposition leaders prepare to meet in London on Wednesday to launch a new plan for a political transition to try to end the five-year civil war.

The umbrella group representing opposition factions, the High Negotiations Committee, will be hosted by UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.
Foreign ministers from the Friends of Syria group of countries, which have supported the rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad, will also attend.

 

 

This new plan is the Syrian opposition's most comprehensive answer to that question: What happens if President Assad goes?

It's meant to reassure the president's foreign backers, like Russia and Iran, that there can be a stable transition which avoids the collapse of state institutions, and violent chaos that's shattered neighbouring states like Iraq. That's a concern shared in many capitals, and most of all Damascus.

But the demand for President Assad and his closest Syrian allies to step down has always been rejected in Damascus, and will be again. It's never clear how much Moscow and Tehran are able and willing to change that. This plan is meant to test that.

But the Syrian army, backed by powerful outside support, is making gains on the ground, through force, or local deals which amount to surrender. If this plan doesn't work it will be back to Plan B - more military support to all sides in a devastating war.

 

 

A volunteer emergency response worker from the Syria Civil Defence said he had reached the scene of the Aleppo attack on Tuesday shortly after a helicopter had dropped barrels containing what he said were four chlorine cylinders.

The Syria Civil Defence, an organisation that operates in rebel-held areas and is also known as the "White Helmets", posted video on its Facebook page showing distressed children using oxygen masks to breathe.

The report says 600,000 Syrians now live under siege with up to 300,000 trapped in the city of Aleppo.

On Sunday, Syrian government forces were reported to have recaptured parts of Aleppo city which were lost to rebels last month, placing rebel-held districts in the city's east once again under siege.

A monitoring group said government troops had recaptured two military academy sites in the Ramouseh district, in the south of the city, and severed a recently established rebel supply line.