Posted on 12/24/2012 7:50:46 AM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
Seven people have died in Homs after they inhaled a "poisonous gas" used by government forces in a rebel-held neighbourhood, activists said.
Activists also told Al Jazeera on Sunday night that scores of others were affected in al-Bayyada neighbourhood. Side effects reported include nausea, relaxed muscles, blurred vision, and breathing difficulties.
Residents said they did not know the nature of the gas used.
"The situation is very difficult. We do not have enough facemasks. We don't know what this gas is but medics are saying it's something similar to Sarin gas," Raji Rahmet Rabbou, an activist in Homs, told Al Jazeera.
A doctor treating patients subsequently said the gas seemed to be a concentrated form of tear gas that has not been used in Homs before. Inhaling large amounts can lead to suffocation and death, he said.
The gas appears to have been used during a battle with rebel fighters.
We received the following videos from a field clinic in the city:
(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.aljazeera.com ...
Wired:
‘Stop! Or I’ll yell ‘stop’ again!’ -Obama
Warning.....GRAPHIC Videos
That Wired link has a very GRAPHIC video of the patient suffering and gasping .....
But - But - The Won said this would be a “red line” that Syria better not cross - didnt they take him seriously?
Syrian rebels claim Assad regime uses chemical weapons
********************************************EXCERPT*****************************************
Arab media and opposition activists reported Monday that Bashar Assad's regime has used chemical weapons for the first time since fighting began in Syria.
According to an Al-Jazeera report, activists in the Al-Bayada neighborhood in Homs, which is under rebel control, claimed they have been targeted with gas by government forces. The opposition said in a separate statement that jet fighters dropped bombs containing 'poisonous material' on Homs.
According to the reports, six or seven people were killed in the attack and dozens wounded. A video posted by Al-Jazeera shows a man being treated with a respirator after allegedly being wounded by nerve gas.
Residents reported those wounded suffered from nausea, delirium and breathing difficulties, but said they do not know what type of gas was used. The opposition also claimed that four people were left blind and four other paralyzed. "The situation is very bad," one of the rebels told Al-Jazeera. "We don't have enough gas masks, we do not know what gas this is, but doctors say it resembles sarin."
In the past few weeks, the U.S. and other Western countries have claimed that intelligence reports appear to show Assad's regime moving chemical weapons and preparing them for use as the regime gradually loses control over the country. The West has warned Assad that use of chemical weapons would constitute a "red line" and would have international ramifications. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned of U.S. action in such a scenario.
Last week, Russia's foreign minister said the Syrian government has consolidated its chemical weapons in one or two locations amid a rebel onslaught.
Sergey Lavrov says Russia, which has military advisers training Syria's military, has kept close watch over its chemical arsenal. He said the Syrian government has moved them from many arsenals to just "one or two centers" to properly safeguard them.
It just doesn’t make sense to me.
I am not saying it didn’t happen, just that it doesn’t make sense.
If you are going to set yourself up for an accusation of using gas, why would you use it in such a limited way.
If this was military gas certainly the shell would have held mush more gas than this.
I am often wrong but it appears to me that the people using the gas were the rebals and they are using it to bring other coun tires into this fight with Assad. It looks like a frame up to me.
I cannot speak for Assad, it would seem to me that if he were going to take the rap for using gas he would use it to wipe clean the whole mess of them.
The video could be a lot of things besides what they say are Doctor treating gas victims.
Merry Christmas to you and yours.
And Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!
Ya don’t say!!
Not sure we can trust Al Jazeera to report this. The emir of Qatar owns Al Jazeera and he also has been providing support to the Salafist Jihadis fighting against Assad in Syria...
Very true.
See #9.
I’m no expert but that video doesn’t seem to show a victim of Sarin. I have seen guys in worse shape coming out of the “gas chamber” in the Marine Corps from CS Tear Gas.
What better way to get outside intervention than stage a Chemical gas attach by the Gov. Al Qaeda gets the USA to do their dirty work, take out Assad, while they take over the country. Could be wrong, maybe not.
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