Assad Regime Accused of Ongoing Chlorine Attacks Since March

Syrian opposition activists are trying to bring international attention to a growing number of alleged attacks using chlorine gas in Syria, which they say were undoubtedly carried out by government aircraft, AP reports.

The activists claim they have documented 18 cases of the use of chlorine gas in opposition-held territory in northern Syria since March 6, when the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution determining that chlorine was being used in Syria and warning of repercussions.

Most of the recent chlorine attacks and airstrikes occurred in towns and villages in Idlib province, after the area’s capital city was taken by insurgent opposition groups in March.

The latest alleged attack, on Tuesday in the town of Jisr al-Shughour in Idlib, a former regime stronghold, killed nine people and wounded hundreds.

However, the world agency charged with determining whether chlorine was used, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, does not have the mandate to assign blame for such attacks.

Additionally, any action to follow up on the claims would require approval from the U.N. Security Council, which remains deeply divided over the Syrian conflict.

The U.S., along with France and Britain, has repeatedly accused the Syrian government of conducting such attacks, claiming that the Syrian military is the only force involved in the conflict that has the helicopters needed to deliver the toxic weapons.

Russia, a major ally of the Syrian regime and a veto-wielding member of the U.N. Security Council, has said that there is insufficient evidence to assign culpability to the Syrian regime.

Meanwhile, the U.S. is spearheading an effort to set up a parallel commission of inquiry that would be mandated to determine blame, opening a path for action in light of the ongoing reports of attacks.

Syrian Forces Reportedly Carry Out Airstrike on Tabqa Air Base

The Syrian air force allegedly carried out an airstrike on an Islamic State-controlled air base in Raqqa, killing more than 140 militants, Reuters reports.

Reuters could not independently verify the attack on the Tabqa air base in Raqqa, the de-facto capital of the Islamic State-proclaimed caliphate in Iraq and Syria.

The militant group seized the air base last August, killing dozens of captive Syrian government forces.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) claims the U.S.-led coalition launched a separate campaign against the Islamic State in the same area on Monday.

French Foreign Minister Says International Coalition Fighting ISIS Needs to Be Reinforced

French foreign minister Laurent Fabius has said the international coalition fighting the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq needs to be reinforced very quickly to avoid more massacres and further partition of the two countries.

“In Iraq, like Syria, international mobilization must be strengthened very quickly or else we are heading toward the division of one or the other country, if not both, with new massacres and disastrous consequences,” Fabius said ahead of a June 2 meeting in Paris of nations fighting ISIS.

Over 20 foreign ministers, including U.S. secretary of state John Kerry, are expected to attend the meeting. The aim is to collectively decide on a strategy to reverse recent losses to the militant group in both Syria and Iraq.

SOHR reported last week that ISIS now controls more than half of all Syrian territory.

Last week, the Islamic State gained full control of Palmyra and its ancient archaeological sites, its military bases and the notorious Tadmur prison, marking the first time the al-Qaida offshoot had taken control of a city directly from the Syrian army and its allied forces. The group reportedly executed at least 217 people, including women and children, in and around Palmyra after the city was seized.

The fall of the town to the Islamic State is a significant loss to the government because it potentially opens the way for the extremists to advance toward key government-held areas, including the capital city of Damascus and Homs. It is also close to gas and oil fields that supply the regime’s strongholds in the west.

Also, on Tuesday, the Turkish foreign minister said that the U.S. and Turkey have “agreed in principle” to provide air support to Syrian rebels being trained and equipped to fight Islamic State militants.

The two countries agreed in February to train and equip more than 5,000 fighters a year, and a total of 15,000 over a three-year period, to send back to Syria to fight Islamic State militants.

However, the plan has been mired by disagreement between Washington and its allies about the objective of the training.

Turkey has said that any support system for the rebels must be part of a comprehensive plan with the ultimate goal of defeating the Assad regime.

The U.S., however, has said that the main objective of the coalition is to fight the Islamic State, which holds vast swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria.

Syria’s deputy foreign minister condemned Turkey’s claim on Tuesday, saying air support provided by any country to rebels fighting against ISIS extremists would be considered an act of “aggression.”

Recommended Reads

• Newsweek: ‘Obama at War’ Shows How Syria Was Lost
• NBC: Palmyra’s Ancient Ruins Unharmed for Now: Syria’s Antiquities Chief
• NPR: U.S., Turkey Divided on Support for Rebel Forces in Syria
• Reuters: U.N. Agency Urges Truce in Syria Fighting During Harvesting