Iraq News

Syrian regime used chemical arms in Aleppo: watchdog

Syrian regime forces carried out at least eight chemical attacks during the final weeks of the battle for Aleppo, killing nine people, among them four children, and injuring hundreds more, Human Rights Watch said Monday (February 13th).

The rights group said it interviewed witnesses, collected photos and reviewed video footage indicating that chlorine bombs were dropped from regime helicopters during the offensive from November 17th to December 13th, AFP reported.

Around 200 people were injured by the toxic gases used on opposition-controlled areas of the city, according to HRW.

The report detailed attacks on a playground, clinics, residential streets and houses that left scores of people struggling to breathe, vomiting and unconscious.

The attacks, which may have involved as many as three helicopters operating jointly, took place in areas where regime forces were poised to advance, HRW said.

"The pattern of the chlorine attacks shows that they were co-ordinated with the overall military strategy for retaking Aleppo, not the work of a few rogue elements," said Ole Solvang, HRW's deputy emergencies director.

HRW said it was able to verify eight attacks involving chlorine bombs, adding that the actual number of chemical attacks could be higher.

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