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Syrian army denies chemical attack claims

Wednesday, 07 September 2016 5:54 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 07 September 2016 5:54 PM ]

Smoke billows on September 4, 2016, from a location on the southern outskirts of the Syrian city of Aleppo after government forces retook control of military academies from militants. (AFP)

Syria’s army has denied claims that its forces carried out a chemical attack on a militant-held area in Aleppo recently.

The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Wednesday said one person had been killed and scores of others suffered from suffocation in an alleged chemical attack by the Syrian army against Sukkari neighborhood in eastern Aleppo on Tuesday.

The so-called Syrian Civil Defense, which operates in militant-controlled areas, also claimed that Syrian helicopters dropped barrel bombs containing chlorine.

"We have not and will not use at any point this type of weapon," said a source with the Syrian military, adding that such claims aim at diverting public attention from the setbacks militants have suffered.

The city of Aleppo has been divided between the government forces and militants over the past few years. Army forces are in the middle of a major operation to liberate the militant-held parts of Aleppo province.

The Daesh Takfiri terrorists and other militants have a history of carrying out chemical attacks on civilians and government forces in Syria and Iraq.

On August 18, the terrorists fired rounds of mustard gas mortars on a government-controlled neighborhood in Aleppo, injuring at least 20 people.

Earlier last month, Russia said Harakat Nour al-Din al-Zenki militant group, considered by Washington as “moderate opposition,” launched poisonous materials from Sukkari toward the eastern part of Aleppo, leaving seven people dead and over 20 others injured.

On April 7, nearly two dozen people lost their lives and over 100 others suffered breathing difficulties when Daesh carried out a chemical attack against members of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in Sheikh Maqsood neighborhood of Aleppo.

According to a report by the Syrian-American Medical Society, Daesh has carried out more than 160 attacks involving “poisonous or asphyxiating agents, such as sarin, chlorine, and mustard gas” since the beginning of the conflict in Syria in 2011. Over 1,490 people have been killed in the chemical attacks.

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