FYI CNN biasanya akurat.
Tapi kita tunggulah konfirmasinya. (CNN) -- Syrian opposition sources and witnesses reported several explosions and serious casualties in rebel strongholds in the Damascus countryside on Wednesday -- and accused the government of using chemical agents. The sources put the casualty count at "hundreds." Videos posted online show lifeless bodies, most with no visible signs of injury. Many of the injured appeared to be convulsing CNN could not immediately verify where or when the videos were recorded. The Syrian government denied using chemical weapons, calling the reports "completely baseless," the state-run SANA news agency said. Syrian refugees flee into northern Iraq Syrian war causes health care crisis Author: Iraq and Syria disintegrating If chemical agents are being used, it comes at a time when a U.N. group is in the county to determine either side in the bloody civil war is using such chemicals. The explosions took place in eastern and western Ghouta, rebel strongholds that the regime has for more than a year been desperately trying to take back. They don't want rebels pushing into the capital. "The inspectors will not come," said a resident who didn't want his real name used. "If they wanted to come, they would have come a long time ago. "The Assad regime determines where the inspectors go, and they will not let them go there. There is already a siege around Eastern Ghouta from the Assad regime." Dr. Abu Said at a field hospital in Sakba, east of Damascus, said the injured started streaming in shortly after pre-dawn prayers. Of the 200, 40 were pronounced dead. The symptoms, he said, included unconsciousness, foaming from their nose and mouth, constricted pupils, fast heartbeat and difficulty breathing. The ones who died asphyxiated, he said. A team of U.N. chemical weapons inspectors landed in Syria this week to begin probing allegations that chemical weapons have been used during the bloody civil war there. The inspectors started their work on Monday. In denying the use of chemical weapons, a government spokesman said the reports were an "attempt to divert the UN chemical weapons investigation commission away from carrying out its duties," SANA reported. Syria has been embroiled in a war for more than two years, during which more than 100,000 people have been killed and millions have been displaced or become refugees in other countries, according to the United Nations. Amid the fighting, there have been numerous allegations that chemical weapons have been used. Syria strikes refugee camp in northern Lebanon In June, the White House said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces had crossed a "red line" by using chemical weapons, including the nerve agent sarin gas, against rebel forces. This prompted the U.S. government to begin providing military support to opposition fighters, despite its earlier reluctance to do so. Bashar al-Assad is all smiles on his new Instagram account Syria's government, meanwhile, has claimed rebel fighters have used chemical weapons as well. That includes a March incident in Khan al-Asal in the northern province of Aleppo, according to state media. Opposition officials have said rebels don't have access to chemical weapons or the missiles needed to use them in an attack, while other rebel leaders said Syrian troops fired "chemical rockets" at civilians and opposition forces. Chemical weapons frightful, relatively inexpensive The government has agreed to arrangements "essential for cooperation to ensure the proper, safe and efficient conduct of the mission," the secretary-general's office said last week. Khan al-Asal will be one of the three incidents that U.N. inspectors will look into, a U.N. official said in late July. ------------------------------------ Post message: [email protected] Subscribe : [email protected] Unsubscribe : [email protected] List owner : [email protected] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
