The UN Security Council is to hold emergency talks after an alleged chemical attack in Syria left dozens of civilians dead and wounded.<\/p>\n
The release of chemicals in a rebel-held town in Idlib province brought furious international reaction.<\/p>\n
Officials in Damascus deny opposition and Western claims that they used chemical weapons.<\/p>\n
Russia’s defence ministry said a Syrian air strike had hit a rebel ammunition store that included chemical weapons.<\/p>\n
In particular, “a workshop for the production of land mines filled with poisonous substances” had been hit, it said.<\/p>\n
It seemed to support accounts by Syrian military sources a day earlier who reported an explosion at what they called a rebel chemical weapons factory in Khan Sheikhoun.<\/p>\n
Earlier, the US and other powers had blamed the Syrian government.<\/p>\n
Footage from the scene showed civilians, many of them children, choking and foaming at the mouth.<\/p>\n
Witnesses said clinics treating the injured were then targeted by air strikes.<\/p>\n
UK-based monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the death toll at 72, including 20 children.<\/p>\n
It was unable to say which chemical had been involved but pro-opposition groups said it was believed to have been the nerve agent Sarin.<\/p>\n
‘War crime’<\/strong><\/p>\n The attack will overshadow a conference in Brussels at which 70 donor nations will discuss aid efforts in Syria. Delegates want to step up humanitarian access for thousands of civilians trapped by fighting.<\/p>\n Syria’s civil war has raged for more than six years, with no political solution in sight.<\/p>\n Nearly five million Syrians have fled the country and more than six million are internally displaced, the UN says. More than 250,000 people have been killed.<\/p>\n Wednesday’s emergency meeting of the UN Security Council was called by France and the UK as international outrage mounted over the attack.<\/p>\n Britain’s ambassador to the UN, Matthew Rycroft, said the incident was “very bad news for peace in Syria”.<\/p>\n “This is clearly a war crime and I call on the Security Council members who have previously used their vetoes to defend the indefensible to change their course,” he told reporters in New York.<\/p>\n In a statement, US President Donald Trump condemned what he called “these heinous actions” by the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.<\/p>\n US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson accused the Syrian government of “brutal, unabashed barbarism”.<\/p>\n UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura said it was a “horrific” attack and that there should be a “clear identification of responsibilities and accountability” for it.<\/p>\n –<\/p>\n Source: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The UN Security Council is to hold emergency talks after an alleged chemical attack in Syria left dozens of civilians dead and wounded. The release of chemicals in a rebel-held town in Idlib province brought furious international reaction. Officials in Damascus deny opposition and Western claims that they used chemical weapons. Russia’s defence ministry said […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[107],"tags":[5856,5692,1686],"yoast_head":"\n