Syria: Locals protest chemical attack in Eastern Ghouta

Author Eşref Musa,Burak Karacaoğlu

IDLIB

Residents in opposition-held districts of Syria held demonstrations on Sunday against the latest chemical attack by the regime in Eastern Ghouta, a Damascus suburb.

On Saturday, the regime forces used toxic gas in an attack in Douma district, which left at least 70 civilians dead, according to the Syria Civil Defense, also known as White Helmets.

Locals from Idlib's Saraqib, Marratinuman and Khan Shaykhun districts -- which came under a chemical attack last April -- and Keferruma and Maarsurin towns joined the demonstrations.

Also, locals from Darat Izza and Al Atarib districts of western Aleppo, and Kifrenbude and Moriq towns of Hama joined the protests.

Some of the banners in English and Arabic the protesters carried, read: "Human rights and international laws are an April Fool's joke", "Where is Human Rights Watch? Where is the world?" and "Choking to death, again. What was their sin?".

Mohammed al-Hani, a Syrian activist who participated in the demonstrations in Saraqib, said that the people condemned the chemical attack by the regime in Douma.

Hasan Al-Hassan, a member of the White Helmets, said: "On the anniversary of the chemical attack in Khan Shaykhun, Assad struck Douma with chemicals. This happened as a result of the international communities' approval and protection."

Firas Abdullah, an activist from Eastern Ghouta who was forced to flee his home, accused the regime and Russia of being "terrorists who used chemical weapons against 170 thousand people trapped in seven square kilometers".

The attack has drawn international condemnation, including from Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

Home to some 400,000 people, Eastern Ghouta has remained the target of a crippling regime siege for the last five years.

Earlier this month, a UN commission of inquiry released a report accusing the regime of committing war crimes in Eastern Ghouta, including the use of chemical weapons against civilians.

*Ali Murat Alhas contributed to the story in Ankara