Syria Turkmens decry suspected chemical attack in Douma

By Adham Kako

ANKARA (AA) – The Syrian Turkmen Assembly has condemned a suspected chemical attack in eastern Ghouta, in which at least 40 people were killed.

Regime forces struck targets in Eastern Ghouta’s Douma district in an attack, in which poison gas appears to have been used, according to the White Helmets civil defense agency.

"We call on the international community to fulfill its obligations and responsibilities toward this barbarous massacre,” the assembly said in a statement on Sunday.

The assembly described the suspected attack in the Damascus suburb as “genocide”.

"April 7, 2018 will mark itself as a dark page in the history of Syria, and even the world,” it said, going on to term parties preventing the international community from doing its duties as “partners in crime”.

"We have been and will be a part of the steps to establish justice to ensure that criminals will be punished and put behind the bars," the assembly said.

On Feb. 24, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2401 which called for a month-long ceasefire in Syria – especially in Eastern Ghouta -- to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid.

Despite the resolution, the regime and its allies early this month launched a major ground offensive backed by Russian air power aimed at capturing opposition-held parts of Eastern Ghouta.

Home to some 400,000 people, the suburb has remained the target of a crippling regime siege for the last five years.

Earlier this month, a UN commission of inquiry released a report accusing the regime of committing war crimes in Eastern Ghouta, including the use of chemical weapons against civilians.