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Syrian Regime Hasn't Abandoned Chemical Weapons
(Der Spiegel-Germany) Christoph Reuter - The Assad regime is attacking towns and villages with chlorine gas bombs. Der Spiegel visited the communities hit by the most recent bombings to interview victims, doctors and eyewitnesses. On the evening of April 21 in Telminnes, a bomb landed near Abu Abdu's garden. "I thought the point of impact was far away," he recalls. Then he saw the cloud before he had a chance to flee. "Yellow vapor rose, it smelled strongly of chlorine and it burned like fire. I could no longer speak or breathe." Neighbors took him to a makeshift hospital where he was treated with oxygen and an anticonvulsant. "Hours later, I could still barely move my arms, I was coughing up blood and every breath I took was hellish." Between 200 and 300 people went to hospital in Telminnes that night. Given chlorine's use in everyday products, it isn't included in the list of weapons the Syrian regime has agreed to place under international control. At least 10 chlorine gas attacks have been carried out since April 10 in Idlib and Hama provinces.