Syrian opposition groups accused the Syrian government Wednesday of killing as many as 1,300 civilians in a poison-gas attack in the suburbs of Damascus. Videos and photos of victims of the attack show bodies with symptoms typical of exposure to chemical agents: foam coming out of the mouth, constricted pupils, and convulsions. Many of the victims were women and children.
The White House released a statement saying the U.S. was “deeply concerned” about the alleged attack and called on the U.N. to investigate. The U.N. Security Council will hold an emergency session today on the alleged use of chemical weapons. A U.N. chemical weapons team is already in the country investigating earlier reported incidents of chemical agents.
Allegations of the use of chemical agents by the Syrian government come exactly one year and one day after President Obama declared chemical weapons to be a “red line” that would “change his calculus” on U.S. policy in Syria.
On Wednesday, Foreign Affairs’ Jonathan Tepperman and Human Rights Watch’s Tamara Alrifai joined NOW with Alex Wagner to discuss the latest allegations of chemical weapons and the U.S. response to the Syrian civil war.
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