Claim of 30 victims in regime attack on Ein Tarma, east of Damascus

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Rebels have accused the Assad regime of resorting to a chlorine attack in the ongoing battle near Syria’s capital Damascus.

The Failaq al-Rahman faction said more than 30 people suffocated from the chlorine gas in Ein Tarma in the East Ghouta region, east of Damascus.

The Assad regime has been trying for months to complete the takeover of East Ghouta. The region was held by rebels since 2012, until pro-Assad forces and foreign allies began retaking much of it from spring 2016.

The regime’s army command insisted, “[We have] not used any chemical weapons in the past, and will not use them at any time as [we don’t] even possess them.”

The regime has repeatedly used chlorine, dropped in canisters inside bombs, after it was forced to hand over other chemical stocks following its sarin attacks near Damascus — killing more than 1,400 people — in August 2013. Despite the effects on breathing causing serious injury and even death, chlorine is not banned under international conventions on chemical weapons because it has widespread industrial and household uses.

Last Monday the US warned of the regime’s preparations for another chemical attack, after it returned to the use of sarin in an April 4 assault on the town of Khan Sheikhoun in northwest Syria.

On Friday, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons reconfirmed that sarin was used in the attack.

Regime Insists No Sarin Used on Khan Sheikhoun

The Assad regime’s Foreign Ministry tried on Saturday to dismiss the OPCW report as a “fabricated narrative with no credibility at all and which cannot be accepted because it is removed from logic”.

The OPCW has based its reports on samples from victims and testimony from witnesses, but the Foreign Ministry said the independent organization’s “main purpose…is to hide facts” in findings “written and prepared in advance by certain circles that are hostile to Syria”.

The Ministry repeated that regime does not possess any chemical weapons. Intelligence agencies of other countries, including the US, have said that the regime has retained some stocks despite its handover of most weapons following its August 2013 sarin attacks near Damascus.

At least 92 people were killed and almost 600 wounded in the assault on the town in Idlib Province.

SNHR: Regime Kills 2000+ Civilians in 1st Half of 2017; US-led Coalition Kills 1000+

The Syrian Network for Human Rights reports the killing of 5,381 civilians in the first half of 2017.

The Assad regime continues to be the perpetrator of the most killings, with the deaths of 2,072 civilians. However, the US-led coaliton has moved into second place for the first time, overtaking Russia and the Islamic State

The coalition was responsible for 1,008 deaths. Russia killed 866 and “extremist Islamist groups” (ISIS and Jabhat Fatah al-Sham) 641.

The Kurdish militia YPG were held responsible for 153 deaths, and rebels for 119. Unspecified groups caused 522 fatalities.

State Media: 8 Killed in Damascus Blasts

Assad regime media says eight people have been killed and 12 wounded by explosions in Damascus, including in the Amara district.

DAMASCUS BLASTS 02-07-17

Earlier, regime officials said two car bombs had been destroyed near Damascus International Airport before they were detonated. However, a third was set off in the Bab Touma area as the bomber was surrounded by security forces.

Video: Regime Shelling Destroyed Civil Defense Center in Hama Province

Footage of a civil defense center in Kafrzita in northern Hama Province, destroyed by regime shelling:

Four ambulances were also put out of service.

Despite the Russian proclamation in early June of a de-escalation zone in northwest Syria, the Assad regime’s military has continued attacks on opposition areas in northern Hama.

Opposition Says Lebanese Army Attacked Refugees in Arsal Camp

The opposition Syrian National Coalition claims the Lebanese army attacked refugees in a camp near the Syrian border, killing and wounding some and detaining others.

The Lebanese military said on Friday that troops had been confronted by five suicide bombers and a sixth attacker with a hand grenade. It said seven soldiers were wounded and a 2 1/2-year-old daughters of refugees was killed.

But the Coalition and other activists question that narrative, saying the army and Hezbollah militia attacked refugees as it raided the Arsal camp in search of militants.

Nabil el-Halabi, the head of the LIFE Organization for Democracy and Human Rights, claimed, “19 Syrian refugees from one camp were killed, including a child and a man with amputated legs.”

El-Halabi asserted, “The Lebanese soldiers…threw grenades into the refugee camp and fired live bullets.” He asked,
“Where are the pictures of the remains of the suicide bombers whom the army said they attacked?”