'Instruments of extermination': Pope joins Britain and US in CONDEMNING Syrian 'nerve agent' bomb that killed more than 70 people and left dozens of children foaming at the mouth - but Russia and Assad DENY it was a chemical attack

  • WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
  • Syrian activists and rescuers say a poison gas attack on a rebel-held town killed at least 70 people yesterday
  • The alleged attack in the town of Douma in Eastern Ghouta came amid a resumed offensive after a truce failed
  • Syria said Russia would hold fresh negotiations with rebels today despite airstrikes resuming this morning  
  • The US has hit out at the Russian government for its backing of the Assad regime after the alleged attack 
  • The UK's Foreign Office also called on Russia and Iran to stop the attacks but Moscow denied it had happened 
  • President Donald Trump warned of a 'big price to pay' for Russia and Iran for their backing of 'Animal Assad' 
  • The Pope joined in the condemnation saying nothing could justify the use of 'instruments of extermination'

Advertisement

Britain and the US have hit out at Russia for its support of the Syrian government after activists and rescuers said a poison gas attack on a rebel-held town near Damascus killed at least 70 people on Saturday.

The alleged attack in the town of Douma occurred on Saturday night amid a new offensive by Syrian government forces after the collapse of a truce, while government airstrikes resumed today on the last rebel stronghold in Eastern Ghouta.  

A joint statement by the medical relief organisation Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) and the civil defence, which operates in rebel-held areas, said dozens of people had died in the chemical attack with many others killed in government airstrikes.

The US State Department said Moscow had to bear responsibility because of its support for Syria, while the UK Foreign Office called on Russia and Iran to stop violence against civilians. The Kremlin and Assad regime denied the attack had taken place.

UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said it was 'truly horrific to think that many of the victims were reportedly families seeking refuge from airstrikes in underground shelters'.  

Pope Francis joined the international condemnation of the reported attack, saying it was an unjustifiable use of 'instruments of extermination', while President Donald Trump warned of a 'big price to pay' for Russia and Iran. 

Syrian state media denied government forces had launched any chemical attack as soon as the reports began circulating and said rebels in the eastern Ghouta town of Douma were in a state of collapse and spreading false news. 

State media reported the Syrian government had reached an agreement for rebels to leave Douma, despite the resumption of airstrikes this morning, with Russia offering safe passage out of their beseiged enclave and tens of buses sent to the town to pick up prisoners freed by the rebel group.

This image made from video released by the Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets shows a medical worker giving toddlers oxygen through respirators following an alleged poison gas attack in the opposition-held town of Douma

This image made from video released by the Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets shows a medical worker giving toddlers oxygen through respirators following an alleged poison gas attack in the opposition-held town of Douma

Toddlers are treated by emergency medical workers following the alleged chemical attack in Douma, Eastern Ghouta

Toddlers are treated by emergency medical workers following the alleged chemical attack in Douma, Eastern Ghouta

A Syrian child receives medical treatment after Assad regime forces allegedly conducted a poisonous gas attack

A Syrian child receives medical treatment after Assad regime forces allegedly conducted a poisonous gas attack

A victim waits to receive medical treatment, one of 70 victims who have suffered from breathing difficulties 

A victim waits to receive medical treatment, one of 70 victims who have suffered from breathing difficulties 

Syrian children wait to receive treatment after the Assad regime allegedly carried out a poisonous gas attack

Syrian children wait to receive treatment after the Assad regime allegedly carried out a poisonous gas attack

Opposition-linked first responders, known as the White Helmets, also reported the attack, saying at least 70 people had died and that entire families were found suffocated in their houses and shelters. 

The group were able to document 42 fatalities but were impeded from searching further by strong odors that gave their rescuers difficulties breathing, said spokesman Siraj Mahmoud.

President Trump tweeted this afternoon: 'Many dead, including women and children, in mindless CHEMICAL attack in Syria. 

'Area of atrocity is in lockdown and encircled by Syrian Army, making it completely inaccessible to outside world. President Putin, Russia and Iran are responsible for backing Animal Assad. Big price to pay.'

A UK Foreign Office spokesperson said: 'These are very concerning reports of a chemical weapons attack with significant number of casualties, which if correct, are further proof of Assad's brutality against innocent civilians and his backers' callous disregard for international norms.

'An urgent investigation is needed and the international community must respond. We call on the Assad regime and its backers, Russia and Iran, to stop the violence against innocent civilians.' 

Meanwhile Pope Francis said at a Mass in St Peter's Square: 'Terrible news comes to us from Syria with dozens of victims, many of them women and children ... so many people are struck by the effects of the chemical substances in the bombs.

'There is no such thing as a good war and a bad war. Nothing, but nothing, can justify the use of such instruments of extermination on defenceless people and populations.'

He urged that 'military and political leaders choose another path, that of negotiations, which is the only one that can bring about peace and not death and destruction'.

The Union of Medical Care & Relief Organizations told Sky News it was 'one of the worst chemical attacks in Syrian history.' 

The Syrian government will start negotiations with the rebel group Jaish al-Islam later on Sunday after the group requested talks, state television reported, citing an official source. 

Boris Johnson said: 'These latest reports must urgently be investigated and the international community must respond.

'Investigators from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons looking into reports of chemical weapons use in Syria have our full support. Russia must not yet again try to obstruct these investigations.

'Should it be confirmed that the regime has used chemical weapons again, it would be yet another appalling example of the Assad regime's brutality and blatant disregard for both the Syrian people and its legal obligations not to use chemical weapons.

'We condemn the use of chemical weapons by anyone, anywhere. We are in close touch with our allies following these latest reports. Those responsible for the use of chemical weapons have lost all moral integrity and must be held to account.'  

A man affected by the alleged poison gas attack on Eastern Ghouta is pictured with a mask on his face 

A man affected by the alleged poison gas attack on Eastern Ghouta is pictured with a mask on his face 

An affected Syrian man lies on a stretcher as he waits to get medical treatment after the attack in Eastern Ghouta

An affected Syrian man lies on a stretcher as he waits to get medical treatment after the attack in Eastern Ghouta

Three Syrian children in a hospital in the the town of Douma in Eastern Ghouta 

Three Syrian children in a hospital in the the town of Douma in Eastern Ghouta 

A wounded Syrian receives first aid at an emergency room in Al Mouwasat Hospital, Damascus 

A wounded Syrian receives first aid at an emergency room in Al Mouwasat Hospital, Damascus 

A wounded woman is carried into a hospital in Damascus after rockets fired from Douma killed at least four civilians

A wounded woman is carried into a hospital in Damascus after rockets fired from Douma killed at least four civilians

An injured man receives treatment at a hospital in Damascus after rockets were fired from Douma during the fighting 

An injured man receives treatment at a hospital in Damascus after rockets were fired from Douma during the fighting 

Emergency personnel are pictured transporting a wounded man to a hospital in the Syrian capital Damascus

Emergency personnel are pictured transporting a wounded man to a hospital in the Syrian capital Damascus

The attacks came as Syrian government forces have resumed deadly bombardments of the last opposition holdout in the Eastern Ghouta area near Damascus

The attacks came as Syrian government forces have resumed deadly bombardments of the last opposition holdout in the Eastern Ghouta area near Damascus

US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said that Washington was closely following 'disturbing reports' of the alleged chemical weapons attack on a Douma hospital. 

She said: 'The Assad regime and its backers must be held accountable and any further attacks prevented immediately.

'These reports, if confirmed, are horrifying and demand an immediate response by the international community. Russia, with its unwavering support for the regime, ultimately bears responsibility for these brutal attacks.'

'The United States calls on Russia to end this unmitigated support immediately and work with the international community to prevent further, barbaric chemical weapons attacks.'

The White Helmets tweeted graphic images showing scores of bodies in a basement, while videos the group posted online purportedly showed victims, including toddlers in diapers, breathing through oxygen masks at makeshift hospitals. It said the death toll is likely to rise. 

Medical relief organisation Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) said a chlorine bomb hit Douma hospital, killing six people, and a second attack with 'mixed agents' including nerve agents had hit a nearby building.

The Russian Government denied the chemical attack had taken place, while its ally Syria has denied ever using chemical weapons.  

'We decidedly refute this information,' Major-General Yuri Yevtushenko, head of the Russian peace and reconciliation centre in Syria, said.

'We hereby announce that we are ready to send Russian specialists in radiation, chemical and biological defence to collect information, as soon as Douma is freed from militants. This will confirm the trumped-up nature of these statements.'

Smoke rises after government forces carried out airstrikes in Eastern Ghouta's Douma town in Damascus on Saturday

Smoke rises after government forces carried out airstrikes in Eastern Ghouta's Douma town in Damascus on Saturday

Pro-Syrian regime forces are seen as they advance towards the town of Douma, the last opposition holdout in Eastern Ghouta

Pro-Syrian regime forces are seen as they advance towards the town of Douma, the last opposition holdout in Eastern Ghouta

The chairman of the international affairs committee of Russia's upper house of parliament, Konstantin Kosachev, said on Sunday that reports of a gas attack in Syria were bogus and convenient news for Washington.

'This is yet another bogus claim by 'fakemakers' and there is a banally obvious reason for it: to undermine the exit of Jaish al-Islam rebels from Douma and impede the offensive by Syrian government forces,' Kosachev wrote on his social media page.

Turkey also strongly condemned on Sunday what it said was a chemical weapons attack, saying there was a 'strong suspicion' the regime of President Assad was responsible.

Syrian state news agency SANA said the rebel group in Douma, Jaish al-Islam, was making 'chemical attack fabrications in an exposed and failed attempt to obstruct advances by the Syrian Arab army,' citing an official source.

A joint statement by the Civil Defense and the Syrian American Medical Society said more than 500 people, mostly women and children, were brought to medical centers with difficulty breathing, foaming at the mouth, and burning of the eyes. It said patients gave off a chlorine-like smell. Some had blue skin, a sign of oxygen deprivation.

The attacks came as Syrian government forces have resumed deadly bombardments of the last opposition holdout in the Eastern Ghouta area near Damascus. 

Rebels in the Douma area responded by attacking civilian areas in Damascus, killing six civilians and wounding dozens more.

Syrian government forces resumed their offensive on rebel-held Douma on Friday afternoon after a 10-day truce collapsed over disagreement regarding evacuation of opposition fighters. 

Pro-Syrian regime forces are seen as they advance towards the town of Douma, the last opposition holdout in Eastern Ghouta

Pro-Syrian regime forces are seen as they advance towards the town of Douma, the last opposition holdout in Eastern Ghouta

The aftermath of airstrikes in Duma, Eastern Ghouta, is pictured above Damascus on Saturday

The aftermath of airstrikes in Duma, Eastern Ghouta, is pictured above Damascus on Saturday

The fighting was not all one way - this photo released by the Syrian official news agency shows Syrians gathered next to a bunt car hit by a shelling by members of the Army of Islam rebel group at Rabwa neighborhood in Damascus on  Friday

The fighting was not all one way - this photo released by the Syrian official news agency shows Syrians gathered next to a bunt car hit by a shelling by members of the Army of Islam rebel group at Rabwa neighborhood in Damascus on  Friday

Scores of civilians have been killed in Eastern Ghouta since a 10-day ceasefire broke down on Friday

Scores of civilians have been killed in Eastern Ghouta since a 10-day ceasefire broke down on Friday

Syrians gather next to a bunt car hit by a shelling by members of the Army of Islam rebel group at Rabwa neighborhood in Damascus on Friday

Syrians gather next to a bunt car hit by a shelling by members of the Army of Islam rebel group at Rabwa neighborhood in Damascus on Friday

Rebel fighters, displaced from Ghouta, gather in a make-shift camp built inside a school in town of Atareb on Saturday

Rebel fighters, displaced from Ghouta, gather in a make-shift camp built inside a school in town of Atareb on Saturday

Smoke billows in the town of Douma, the last opposition holdout in Syria's Eastern Ghouta

Smoke billows in the town of Douma, the last opposition holdout in Syria's Eastern Ghouta

A Syrian boy, displaced from Ghouta, sits outside a tent in a make-shift camp built inside a school

A Syrian boy, displaced from Ghouta, sits outside a tent in a make-shift camp built inside a school

Smoke rises after the Assad regime's forces carried out airstrikes in the Eastern Ghouta town of Douma 

Smoke rises after the Assad regime's forces carried out airstrikes in the Eastern Ghouta town of Douma 

Smoke billows in Douma after the Syrian regime resumed a military blitz in a bid to pressure the rebels to withdraw

Smoke billows in Douma after the Syrian regime resumed a military blitz in a bid to pressure the rebels to withdraw

The Syrian regime's advance into Douma follows months of fighting as President Assad has ousted his armed opponents from nearly all of Ghouta, their last stronghold on the edge of the capital

The Syrian regime's advance into Douma follows months of fighting as President Assad has ousted his armed opponents from nearly all of Ghouta, their last stronghold on the edge of the capital

Syrians, displaced from Ghouta, gather in a make-shift camp built inside a school in the northern Syrian town of Atareb

Syrians, displaced from Ghouta, gather in a make-shift camp built inside a school in the northern Syrian town of Atareb

Smoke billows in the town of Douma, the last opposition holdout in Syria's Eastern Ghouta

Smoke billows in the town of Douma, the last opposition holdout in Syria's Eastern Ghouta

Syrian regime forces are seen as they advance towards the town of Douma, the last opposition holdout in Eastern Ghouta

Syrian regime forces are seen as they advance towards the town of Douma, the last opposition holdout in Eastern Ghouta

The violence resumed days after hundreds of opposition fighters and their relatives left Douma toward rebel-held areas in northern Syria. 

Backed up by Russia's firepower, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has ousted his armed opponents from nearly all of Ghouta, their last stronghold on the edge of the capital.

The regime has used a combination of fierce military onslaughts and two negotiated withdrawals to regain 95 percent of the enclave, but rebels are still entrenched in Douma, its largest town.

The offensive in Ghouta has been one of the deadliest of the seven-year-long war, killing more than 1,600 civilians, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The bombing subsided and military operations appeared to be on hold for around ten days as Moscow pursued talks with Jaish al-Islam, the Islamist faction that holds Douma.

But the negotiations crumbled this week and air strikes resumed on Friday, killing 40 civilians according to the Syrian Observatory.  

It could not confirm whether the strikes were carried out by Syrian government warplanes or those of its ally, Russia.

Smoke rising after Syrian government airstrikes hit in the town of Douma, in the Eastern Ghouta region east of Damascus

Smoke rising after Syrian government airstrikes hit in the town of Douma, in the Eastern Ghouta region east of Damascus

Syrian policemen stand guard at the site of shelling attacks by Jaysh al-Islam in Damascus on Saturday

Syrian policemen stand guard at the site of shelling attacks by Jaysh al-Islam in Damascus on Saturday

A photo from the Syrian Arab news agency (SANA) shows a damaged minibus at the site of shelling attacks by Jaysh al-Islam

A photo from the Syrian Arab news agency (SANA) shows a damaged minibus at the site of shelling attacks by Jaysh al-Islam

The government of President Bashar al-Assad has made no secret of its desire to capture al of the Eastern Ghouta area 

The government of President Bashar al-Assad has made no secret of its desire to capture al of the Eastern Ghouta area 

Douma is the last rebel-controlled town in Syria's Eastern Ghouta, a sprawling suburb of Damascus that was once the opposition's bastion on the edge of the capital

Douma is the last rebel-controlled town in Syria's Eastern Ghouta, a sprawling suburb of Damascus that was once the opposition's bastion on the edge of the capital

Relatives of Syrians believed to be held by rebels wait on the Syrian government-held side of the Wafideen checkpoint as evacuations of the last rebel-held pocket of the former opposition bastion stall

Relatives of Syrians believed to be held by rebels wait on the Syrian government-held side of the Wafideen checkpoint as evacuations of the last rebel-held pocket of the former opposition bastion stall

A makeshift camp is pictured on Saturday in the northern Syrian town of Atareb where displaced Syrians gathered

A makeshift camp is pictured on Saturday in the northern Syrian town of Atareb where displaced Syrians gathered

In its offensive the regime sliced the area into three isolated pockets - each held by different rebel factions. The first two were evacuated under Russian-brokered deals last month that saw more than 46,000 rebels and civilians bussed to opposition-held Idlib province in the northwest.

Tens of thousands also fled into government-controlled territory through safe passages opened by Russia and Syrian troops.

Moscow stepped in to negotiate a deal for Douma, the third and final pocket where Jaish al-Islam had been angling for a reconciliation agreement that would allow them to stay as a police force.

Following a preliminary accord announced by Russia on Sunday, nearly 3,000 fighters and civilians were evacuated from Douma to northern Syria.

But as talks dragged on, Syria and its Russian ally threatened Jaish al-Islam with a renewed military assault if they did not agree to withdraw.

It remains unclear exactly why the talks fell apart this week. They were reported to have faltered when Jaish al-Islam refused to release detainees they were holding in Douma, adding that the military assault would only stop if hostages are released.

Others have pointed to internal rebel divisions over the withdrawal process.

Top Jaish al-Islam political figure Mohammad Alloush on Friday blamed power struggles between the regime's allies.

'The talks were going well... Their only shared interests is the blood of civilians,' he said.  

Buses carrying families of fighters from the former rebel bastion of Eastern Ghouta arrive at a checkpoint in northern Syria

Buses carrying families of fighters from the former rebel bastion of Eastern Ghouta arrive at a checkpoint in northern Syria

Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army soldiers walk in the centre of Afrin - Turkey says that it is consolidating its hold of the rebel-held province of Idlib

Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army soldiers walk in the centre of Afrin - Turkey says that it is consolidating its hold of the rebel-held province of Idlib