UPDATE - Chemical attack kills 40 in Syria’s Eastern Ghouta

ADDS STATE DEPARTMENT COMMENT

By Adham Kako, Levent Tok and Mohamad Misto

EASTERN GHOUTA, Syria (AA) – Syria’s Bashar al-Assad regime carried out a fresh chemical attack Saturday in Eastern Ghouta, according to a local civil defense agency.

Regime forces struck targets in the Damascus suburb’s Duma district in a midnight attack using poison gas that left at least 40 civilians dead, the White Helmets said in a post on their social media account.

A State Department official told Anadolu Agency the U.S. has "seen multiple, very disturbing reports this afternoon regarding another possible CW attack near a hospital in Douma, Syria", ultimately holding Russia accountable for any chemical weapons attacks carried out by the regime. The official was referring to a chemical weapons attack and was using the U.S. government's preferred spelling for Duma.

"The regime’s history of using chemical weapons against its own people is not in dispute and in fact began with a sarin gas attack in Eastern Ghouta on Aug. 21, 2013 which killed over 1,000 Syrians," the official said. "Russia’s protection of the Assad regime and failure to stop the use of chemical weapons in Syria calls into question its commitment to resolving the overall crisis.”

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.

*Anadolu Agency correspondents Michael Hernandez and Muhammad Bilal Kenasari contributed to this report from Washington.