Oddly timely since the UN chemical weapons experts arrived in the nation just days ago, Syrian rebels are now claiming a sudden massive chemical weapons attack on the outskirts of Damascus, saying 213 people were killed in a nerve gas strike on Ghouta. Other rebels claimed 635 had died.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague, always willing to buy into anything the Syrian rebels say, dubbed it a “shocking escalation,” but the even more shocking aspect would be the timing.
It makes no sense to believe that after finally capping off months of negotiations to get chemical weapons inspectors into the country the Syrian military would just happen to pick that same moment to launch a strike far beyond anything previously alleged.
Riad Haddad, Syria’s Ambassador to Russia, denied the claim, saying that it was fabricated and meant to mislead the inspectors who had just arrived. The UN has yet to comment on the matter, but will presumably show up in Ghouta to investigate it.
