Latest news: Syrian rebels reject toxic gas allegations


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DAMASCUS, Syria – Syrian conflict news (all local times):

12:45

Syrian rebels rejected the government's accusations that they used poisonous gas to attack the government-controlled city of Aleppo.

Rebel commander Abdel-Salam Abdel-Razak said the opposition did not have any toxic gases or the ability to lob. Abdel-Razak participated in the chemical weapons program in Syria before joining the opposition at the beginning of the conflict, which began in 2011.

Abdel-Razak tweeted that "These are lies" shortly after the announcement of an attack in Aleppo that would have injured dozens of people.

The rebel spokesman, Mustafa Sejari, rejected the allegations of toxic gases. He says they came after government shells landed in rebel-held areas, in violation of a ceasefire backed by Russia. He says the government is trying to undermine the ceasefire.

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12:25

A Syrian official said at least 50 civilians were being treated Saturday following an alleged poison gas attack by Syrian rebel groups on the government-controlled city of Aleppo. in the north of the country.

The Syrian state television had previously said that 21 people had been injured, but people were still arriving at an Aleppo hospital where state television was broadcasting live.

According to health official Haj Taha, at least 50 civilians were injured.

The head of the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights based in Britain, Rami Abdurrahman, said that there was a smell of gas in the city of Aleppo after firing projectiles.

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22:30.

Syrian media reports that 21 civilians were treated for respiratory problems as a result of a rebel attack, which allegedly involved projectiles filled with poison gas on the city of Aleppo, under government control.

Last Saturday, Syrian public television broadcast footage of wounded lying in a hospital bed while doctors were administering oxygen and other treatments.

The state-run SANA news agency quoted a police officer in Aleppo as saying that the attack had hit al-Khalidiya neighborhood. Syrian television later said that the attack had also affected two other areas of the city and that a total of 21 people had been injured. Public television interviewed doctors in a hospital who said most people had respiratory problems and blurred vision.

In the past, the rebels have accused the government of using chlorine gas to attack areas controlled by the opposition.

A joint team of the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has accused the Syrian government of using chlorine gas during at least two attacks in 2014 and 2015 and of # 39; s used sarin nerve agent during an attack in April 2017 in the city of Khan Sheikhoun that killed about 100 people.

The UN-OPCW team also accused the extremist group "Islamic State" of using mustard gas twice in 2015 and 2016.

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