The World Postsyria crisisreutersBashar Assad

Syria Chemical Weapons: Activists Accuse Government Forces Of Using Nerve Gas To Kill Hundreds

Activists Accuse Syrian Forces Of Launching Gas Attack
Reuters
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(adds details of bombardment)

BEIRUT, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Syrian activists accused forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday of using chemical agents during the heavy bombardment of rebel-held areas around Damascus.

The reported use of the chemical agents could not be immediately verified. It coincides with a visit to Damascus by a United Nations team of chemical weapons experts.

Activists from the grassroots Local Coordination Committee reported at least 30 bodies had been brought to one field hospital in Kafr Batna neighbourhood a few miles (km) east of central Damascus.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said dozens of people were killed, including children, in fierce bombardment. It said Mouadamiya, southwest of the capital, came under the heaviest attack since the start of the two-year conflict.

It called on the U.N. chemical experts and international organisations to visit the affected areas to ensure aid could be delivered and to "launch an investigation to determine who was responsible for the bombardment and hold them to account".

Syrian authorities and rebels have accused each other of using chemical agents in the course of the civil war, in which 100,000 people have been killed. (Reporting by Dominic Evans; Editing by Elizabeth Piper)

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Before You Go

Syria War In July (WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES)
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A Syrian rebel tries on a gas mask seized from a Syrian army factory in the northwestern province of Idlib on July 18, 2013. (DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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Syrian volunteers try to evacuate 8-year-old Mahmud Fayad still trapped under the rubble of a destroyed house after a barrel bomb was dropped from an air force helicopter in Saraqeb in northwestern Syria on July 20, 2013. (DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian citizens gather near damaged cars that were burned after a car bomb exploded in the suburb of Jaramana, Damascus, Syria, Thursday, July 25, 2013. (AP Photo/SANA) (credit:AP)
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An Indian Shiite Muslim woman breaks down as she holds a placard during a protest rally organized to condemn an attack on a Shiite shrine in Syria, in Bangalore, India, Friday, July 26, 2013. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi) (credit:AP)
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A Syrian man stands amidst the rubble of the Othman mosque, in Syria's eastern town of Deir Ezzor, on July 24, 2013. (KARAM JAMAL/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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An injured Syrian man receives medical treatment at a hospital in the town of Ariha, in the northwestern province of Idlib, on July 21, 2013. (DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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This Tuesday, July 9, 2013 citizen journalism image provided by Aleppo Media Center AMC, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows buildings are seen damaged by Syrian government airstrikes and shelling, in the Salah al-Din neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria. (AP Photo/Aleppo Media Center AMC) (credit:AP)
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Syrian volunteers cry of joy after rescuing 8-year-old Mahmud Fayad who was trapped under the rubble of a destroyed house after a barrel bomb was dropped from an air force helicopter in Saraqeb in northwestern Syria on July 20, 2013. (DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian citizens gather near damaged cars that were burned after a car bomb exploded in the suburb of Jaramana, Damascus, Syria, Thursday, July 25, 2013. (AP Photo/SANA) (credit:AP)
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Syrians inspect the site where a barrel bomb dropped by an air force helicopter exploded in Saraqeb in northwestern Syria on July 20, 2013. (DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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Syrian men rush a heavily wounded man to hospital in Saraqeb in northwestern Syria after a barrel bomb dropped by an air force helicopter exploded less than 10 metres away from his car on July 20, 2013. (DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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Indian Shiite Muslim women raise slogans as they participate in a rally organized to condemn an attack on a Shiite shrine in Syria, in Bangalore, India, Friday, July 26, 2013. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi) (credit:AP)
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In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian citizens look at a damaged building after a car bomb exploded in the suburb of Jaramana, Damascus, Syria, Thursday, July 25, 2013. (AP Photo/SANA) (credit:AP)
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Syrians search for survivors under the rubble of a destroyed house after a barrel bomb was dropped from an air force helicopter in Saraqeb in northwestern Syria on July 20, 2013. (DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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Doctors treat a young Syrian girl hit by shrapnel following an air raid in the northern Syrian town of Saraqeb, in the Idlib province, on July 19, 2013. (DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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A Syrian girl walks next to the debris of her house, after it was targeted by a missile, in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib on July 18, 2013. (DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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In this Wednesday, July 3, 2013 citizen journalism image provided by Lens Young Homsi, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows Syrians inspecting the rubble of damaged buildings due to government airstrike and shelling, in the al-Hamidiyyeh neighborhood of Homs province, Syria. (AP Photo/Lens Young Homsi) (credit:AP)
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A picture taken on July 18, 2013 shows smoke rising from a building after opposition forces attacked a government forces held checkpoint in Syria's northeastern city of Deir Ezzor on July 18, 2013. (ABO SHUJA/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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This aerial view shows the Zaatari refugee camp on Thursday, July 18, 2013 near the Jordanian city of Mafraq, some 8 kilometers (5 miles) from the Jordan-Syria border. (AP Photo/Mandel Ngan, Pool) AP10ThingsToSee (credit:AP)
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A rebel fighter points his gun towards pro-government forces' positions during clashes in the Salaheddine district of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, on July 9, 2013. (JM LOPEZ/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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Syrian children wait in line to collect a free Iftar meal in the northern city of Raqqa during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on July 14, 2013. (MEZAR MATAR/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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A rebel fighter aims his weapon to Syrian government forces' positions inside a destroyed school in the Izaa district of Aleppo, on July 14, 2013. (JM LOPEZ/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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A rebel fighter from the Suqur Al-Sham brigades, takes a nap after his night shift in a trench along the highway that connects Idlib city with Latakia, 100m far from the Syrian regime's forces's positions, on July 14, 2013. (DANIEL LEAL OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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In this citizen journalism image provided by Aleppo Media Center AMC, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, buildings are seen damaged by Syrian government airstrikes and shelling in Aleppo, Syria, Monday, July 8, 2013. (AP Photo/Aleppo Media Center AMC) (credit:AP)
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Family members pray over the bodies of two Syrian children, Safia Baour, 14, and her three-year-old brother Khaled, who were killed after a shell landed on their family home as they gathered to break their fast with the iftar meal on July 13, 2013 in Maaret Al-Numan in southern Idlib province. (DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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Syrian rebels head to the town of Bsankol in the northwestern province of Idlib to join comrades fighting regime forces for the control of the highway that connects Idlib with Latakia on July 11, 2013. (DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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An opposition fighter stands over seven year old Ahmad Jabir, who was injured alongside some his family members by a shell, as he lies on a X-Ray machine after he brought the boy to a hospital in the town of Al-Bara, in Syria's northwestern province Idlib on July 10, 2013. (DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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Syrian rebels gather outside a building which they blew up to target a regime sniper taking shelter inside but who managed to escape in the Salaheddine district of the northern city of Aleppo on July 10, 2013. (SALAH AL-ASHKAR/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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Rebel fighters look up listening as they take positions during clashes with pro-government forces in the Salaheddine district of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, on July 9, 2013. (JM LOPEZ/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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This Tuesday, July 9, 2013 citizen journalism image provided by Aleppo Media Center AMC, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows Syrian rebels running during heavy clashes with Syrian soldiers loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad, in the Salah al-Din neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria. (AP Photo/Aleppo Media Center AMC) (credit:AP)
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Rebel fighters break a wall before holding a position during clashes with pro-government forces in the Salaheddine district of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, on July 9, 2013. (JM LOPEZ/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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A rebel fighter speaks on a walkie-talkie as he holds a position in a flat during clashes with pro-government forces in the Salaheddine district of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, on July 9, 2013. (JM LOPEZ/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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Syrian rebel fighters gather around a former Syrian army tank as rebels prepare to attack positions held by the Syrian army areas in the Salaheddine neighborhood of Aleppo, on July 8, 2013. (ABO MHIO/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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Opposition fighters carry one of their comrades, who died on the front-line, as they were leading an attack on positions held by the government forces in the Salaheddine neighbourhood of Aleppo on July 8, 2013. (ABO AL-NUR SADK/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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An opposition fighter throws a Molotov cocktail during clashes with Syrian government forces in the Salah al-Din area of the northern city of Aleppo on July 8, 2013. (ZAID REV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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In this Tuesday, July 2, 2013 citizen journalism image provided by Aleppo Media Center AMC, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, homes are seen destroyed by Syrian government airstrikes and shelling in the neighborhood of Karam Tarab near Aleppo International Airport in Aleppo, Syria. (AP Photo/Aleppo Media Center AMC) (credit:AP)
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