[<<*At least 70 people have died in a suspected chemical attack in Douma, the last rebel-held town in Syria's Eastern Ghouta, rescuers and medics say.* Volunteer rescue force the White Helmets tweeted graphic images showing several bodies in basements. It said the deaths were likely to rise. There has been no independent verification of the reports. Syria has called the allegations of a chemical attack a "fabrication" - as has its main ally, Russia. ... More than 1,600 people are reported to have been killed and thousands injured.>>
(Excerpted from sl. no. I. below.) <<We can only be thankful for the safety of those who survived. This month of massacres took the lives of more than 1,400 civilians [that's 3 days back]. Those leaving now have experienced the hell on earth of relentless Napalm attacks, hospital bombings, and attacks on schools and the basements they were hiding in. And that was just in recent weeks. Over the past five years, Ghouta has faced terrible violence including the sarin gas chemical attack that took the lives of hundreds in their sleep. And despite it all they have taught the world a lesson in courage and resilience. When the regime lost control of Ghouta its people built new forms of local governance and held free elections for the first time in Syria’s history. When the bombs started falling on neighbourhoods its teachers and doctors took schools and hospitals underground and ordinary residents put on white helmets and rushed to rescue their friends and neighbours. The people of Ghouta launched inspiring civil society projects, often women-led. They created new media platforms and produced award-winning photojournalism. They created alternative energy resources and introduced new farming techniques. But after this latest, relentless onslaught, people were truly left with no choice. If they remained in Ghouta they risked being detained and tortured as the Syrian regime closed in, particularly the ones who decided to teach, treat the wounded, or post updates to Facebook. So now many are leaving behind everything they’ve ever known to go to a place that isn’t that much safer. The province of Idlib, home to more than two million, is also being struck from the air by the Syrian regime and its Russian ally. ... Ghouta has set the ultimate example of civil resistance and what a society can be when neighbour helps neighbour. It is up to all of us continue living by that example every day.>> (Excerpted from sl. no. II. below.)] I/II. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-43686157 Syria war: At least 70 killed in suspected chemical attack in Douma 2 hours ago Related TopicsSyrian civil war Media captionDouma children treated after chemical attack At least 70 people have died in a suspected chemical attack in Douma, the last rebel-held town in Syria's Eastern Ghouta, rescuers and medics say. Volunteer rescue force the White Helmets tweeted graphic images showing several bodies in basements. It said the deaths were likely to rise. There has been no independent verification of the reports. Syria has called the allegations of a chemical attack a "fabrication" - as has its main ally, Russia. The US state department said Russia - with its "unwavering support" for Syria's government - "ultimately bears responsibility" for the alleged attacks. Syrian warplanes strike rebel enclave Mattis warns Syria over poison gas use 'We will stay until the end': A doctor's battle in Eastern Ghouta What do we know about the attack? Several medical, monitoring and activist groups reported details of a chemical attack. "Seventy people suffocated to death and hundreds are still suffocating," said Raed al-Saleh, head of the White Helmets. An earlier, now deleted tweet, put the number dead at more than 150. The pro-opposition Ghouta Media Center tweeted that more than 75 people had "suffocated", while a further 1,000 people had suffered the effects of the alleged attack. It blamed a barrel bomb allegedly dropped by a helicopter which it said contained Sarin, a toxic nerve agent. The Union of Medical Relief Organizations, a US-based charity that works with Syrian hospitals, told the BBC the Damascus Rural Specialty Hospital had confirmed 70 deaths. Image copyrightAFP/GETTY IMAGES Image caption Pro-government forces are fighting to drive rebels out of Douma A spokeswoman said there were reports of people being treated for symptoms including convulsions and foaming of the mouth, consistent with nerve or mixed nerve and chlorine gas exposure. Continued shelling overnight and on Sunday was making it impossible to reach victims. As the allegations emerged, Syria's state news agency Sana said the reports were invented by the Jaish al-Islam rebels who remain in control in Douma. "Jaish al-Islam terrorists are in a state of collapse and their media outlets are [making] chemical attack fabrications in an exposed and failed attempt to obstruct advances by the Syrian Arab army," Sana said. Has the Syrian government used chemical weapons before? In August 2013, rockets containing the nerve agent Sarin were fired at rebel-held areas of the Eastern Ghouta, killing hundreds of people. A UN mission confirmed the use of Sarin, but it was not asked to state who was responsible. Western powers said only Syrian government forces could have carried out the attack. In April 2017, more than 80 people died in a Sarin attack on the opposition-held town of Khan Sheikhoun, and a joint inquiry by the UN and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) held the Syrian government responsible. Image copyrightREUTERS Image caption About 80 people died and many more were injured in the attack on Khan Sheikhoun Activists, medics and the US say Syrian government forces dropped bombs containing toxic chlorine gas on rebel-held towns in early 2018. Syria government behind 2017 Sarin attack - UN N Korea 'helps Syria make chemical weapons' The joint UN-OPCW mission is investigating the reports. It previously found that government forces have used chlorine as a weapon at least three times during the seven-year civil war. The Syrian government has repeatedly denied ever having used chemical weapons. It maintains that its entire chemical arsenal has been destroyed. Could there be repercussions for Damascus? Following the latest attack, the UK Foreign Office urged an international response. But Russia said allegations of a chemical attack "were staged". US President Donald Trump ordered a cruise missile attack against Syria following the Khan Sheikhoun attack a year ago. Last month, the Washington Post newspaper reported that Mr Trump had discussed the possibility of another American attack on Syria with top security officials, but decided not to take action. Days later, Defence Secretary Jim Mattis warned that it would be "unwise" for Syria to launch chemical attacks. French President Emmanuel Macron has threatened to strike Syria if the government uses chemical weapons against civilians. What's happening in Douma? Douma is the last rebel-held town in Syria's Eastern Ghouta region, and is under siege from Russian-backed Syrian government forces. An intense aerial and ground assault launched on Friday, after talks between Moscow and the rebels broke down, is said to have killed dozens of people. Before negotiations failed, Jaish al-Islam had been trying to secure a deal that would let its members stay in Douma as a local security force. 'Deal struck' over Syrian rebel bastion Why is there a war in Syria? WATCH: A video guide to the war in Syria More were feared to have been killed in new shelling on Sunday. State media said six civilians had also died in rebel shelling of the capital Damascus, with 38 injured. Jaish al-Islam denied it was responsible. Image copyrightEPA/SANA Image caption Syrian state media said civilians in the suburbs of Damascus had been killed and injured by rebel mortar fire Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have recaptured almost the entire Eastern Ghouta region through a fierce offensive that started in February. More than 1,600 people are reported to have been killed and thousands injured. II. https://medium.com/@TheSyriaCampaign/leaving-ghouta-1480214235ef The Syria Campaign Supporting Syria’s heroes in their struggle for freedom and democracy Apr 5 Leaving Ghouta Photo credit: Mohammad Badra This week marks another crime of forced displacement in Syria, another wave of thousands of families packing a few precious belongings and boarding buses, never to see their homes again. 130,000 people have already left Ghouta after surviving a month’s brutal assault and five years of siege, longer even than the siege of Leningrad. One by one we ask our friends about the heroes who have reported, photographed, fed families, treated patients, and rescued civilians from the rubble of this cruel and historic siege. “Is Bassam out?” “Where is Nivin now? “How about Badra?” “Has anyone been in touch with Um Samih?” We can only be thankful for the safety of those who survived. This month of massacres took the lives of more than 1,400 civilians. Those leaving now have experienced the hell on earth of relentless Napalm attacks, hospital bombings, and attacks on schools and the basements they were hiding in. And that was just in recent weeks. Over the past five years, Ghouta has faced terrible violence including the sarin gas chemical attack that took the lives of hundreds in their sleep. And despite it all they have taught the world a lesson in courage and resilience. When the regime lost control of Ghouta its people built new forms of local governance and held free elections for the first time in Syria’s history. When the bombs started falling on neighbourhoods its teachers and doctors took schools and hospitals underground and ordinary residents put on white helmets and rushed to rescue their friends and neighbours. The people of Ghouta launched inspiring civil society projects, often women-led. They created new media platforms and produced award-winning photojournalism. They created alternative energy resources and introduced new farming techniques. But after this latest, relentless onslaught, people were truly left with no choice. If they remained in Ghouta they risked being detained and tortured as the Syrian regime closed in, particularly the ones who decided to teach, treat the wounded, or post updates to Facebook. So now many are leaving behind everything they’ve ever known to go to a place that isn’t that much safer. The province of Idlib, home to more than two million, is also being struck from the air by the Syrian regime and its Russian ally. Together we did everything we could to get the people and institutions with power to save Ghouta and stop the massacres. Thousands of us flooded the inboxes of UN Security Council members demanding they enforce their resolution for a ceasefire. We jammed the phone lines of Russian embassies, letting them know the world was watching and demanding an end to their massacres in Ghouta. We shared the stories of the women of Ghouta, their demands and their accounts of daily life under the assault, and we demanded action. And then, when protests weren’t enough to stop the killing, thousands of dollars were contributed to a grassroots fundraiser for Um Samih’s kitchen, to make sure she and her team could feed people living in underground shelters packed with women and children. Though the powerful chose not to act, thousands of us across the world from all nationalities stood in unwavering solidarity with the people of Ghouta. And in Syria too of course. In Idlib, which faces its own economic challenges, we saw grocery shops, bakeries, and children’s toy shops put up signs addressed to the people of Ghouta to take anything they need for free. Now as families from Ghouta arrive to Idlib, our campaigning and solidarity must continue. These families are only some of the thousands of people who have been moved there after surviving starvation sieges across the country. Idlib’s local initiatives do amazing work to educate and provide relief and they are striving to continue their work despite challenges from Western donors, bombing by the Syrian regime and Russian air forces, and extremist groups on the ground surrounding them. Over the next months it’ll be our job to support them as well as the civil society groups who have left Ghouta and other areas and want to continue their work in Idlib. Ghouta has set the ultimate example of civil resistance and what a society can be when neighbour helps neighbour. It is up to all of us continue living by that example every day. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to greenyouth+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send an email to greenyouth@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
