Syrian regime continues to use chlorine gas in Idlib

By Levent Tok and Adham Kako

IDLIB, Syria (AA) - The Syrian regime carried out chlorine gas attacks in Syria's northern Idlib province, affecting some 20 civilians of the area, a spokesman for the FSA-affiliated Jaysh al-Nasr (“Army of Victory”), Mohamed Rashid said on Monday.

"Assad regime conducted a chlorine attack on Al Habit town, in the evening hours. We are now at the scene. Approximately 20 civilians were affected by this attack," Rashid told an Anadolu Agency reporter.

Rashid said that the Assad regime conducted 26 air strikes with chlorine barrel bombs, in Al Habit town of Idlib, adding that the victims affected by the chlorine were taken to the hospitals in the region.

Regime helicopters targeted the town of Al-Latamna in northern Hama with barrel bombs containing chlorine gas, five days ago in which two people were killed and at least 30 people affected by the gas.

Last year, a UN-appointed investigation panel found that chemical weapons were used by regime forces and opposition fighters in 2014 and 2015. However, no actionable steps were taken.

Chlorine gas is one of several elements and compounds used in devastating chemical attacks, outlawed by international treaties. High level of exposure to the gas can cause suffocation as the chemical injuries in the pulmonary airways result in severe fluid buildup in the lungs, with children and seniors particularly vulnerable.

The war for Aleppo was all but over in late December of last year when Russia and Turkey helped broker a cease-fire deal that included the evacuation of thousands of civilians and opposition fighters from the city.

The six-year Syrian war has caused hundreds of thousands of deaths and displaced millions of people, leaving the country in ruins.