Alleged Chemical Attack Will Be Investigated, Says International Watchdog

Suspected use of chemical weapons on opposition-held Aleppo will be investigated by the international chemical weapons watchdog, Al Jazeera reported.

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) called the reported attacks on Tuesday night disturbing, and said an investigation will report its findings to the Chemical Weapons Convention’s member states.

“We are disturbed by the recent allegations of the use of toxic chemicals in Aleppo,” said Ahmet Uzumcu, the OPCW director-general.

“Such allegations are taken very seriously by the OPCW. The use of chemical weapons by anyone, anywhere and under any circumstances is unacceptable.”

The latest reported attack in opposition-held Aleppo is believed to have caused at least one death and dozens of cases of severe respiratory difficulties, according to activists. The gas was reportedly contained in two barrel bombs dropped by government helicopters.

The OPCW worked alongside the United Nations in a joint investigation into nine chemical weapon attacks in Syria in 2014 and 2015, with the findings laying blame with the Syrian government for at least two of them, and the so-called Islamic State for one.

Turkey Shells Kurdish Region in Northwestern Syria, Kills Six

The Turkish military killed six members of the Kurdish security forces during shelling on northwestern Syria Wednesday night, according to the U.K.-based Syria Observatory of Human Rights, Reuters reported.

Afrin, located in northwestern Syria and part of Aleppo province, is a predominantly Kurdish city, governed by the Kurdish YPG militia. In a statement released following the attack, authorities in Afrin accused Turkey of trying to ignite a war.

“We will carry out the appropriate response … if these type of attacks are repeated,” the statement said.

Last month, Turkey launched a military operation in Syria, named “Euphrates Shield” to push back the so-called Islamic State from its border. Turkish authorities said the operation was also aimed at targeting Kurdish forces in northern Syria in order to stop them from consolidating their presence there.

Turkey fears an autonomous Kurdish region in northern Syria may inspire its own Kurdish minority, who has been fighting for autonomy since the 1980s.

Armed Opposition Kills Only Pediatrician in Aleppo Neighborhood

Islamist factions from the Syrian armed opposition fired artillery at the Kurdish neighborhood of Sheikh Maqsoud in Aleppo City, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported, killing the district’s only pediatrician.

Wednesday’s attack also resulted in an undetermined number of civilian deaths.

Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, is deeply divided between government forces in the west and opposition forces in the east. The predominantly Kurdish neighborhood of Sheikh Maqsoud on the western side of the city, however, is under the Kurdish YPG militia’s control. Rebel groups have previously clashed with the YPG there, accusing the latter of aiding the government in last month’s siege on eastern Aleppo, which the YPG has denied.

The neighborhood has also been the target of government barrel bombs and airstrikes.

Physicians for Human Rights has documented the death of at least 738 health workers in the six years since the Syrian conflict erupted.

Recommended Reads:

• The Guardian: ‘Long Way to Go’ Before U.S.-Russia Ceasefire Deal on Syria, Says Ash Carter
• Time: A Glimmer of Hope Opens for Syrian Rebels as Peace Talks Intensify
• Foreign Policy: Assad’s Texas-Sized Victory
• The Telegraph: There’s Hope for Syria – But First, Assad Must Go
• Buzzfeed: Here’s Why Turkey’s Syria Intervention is a Huge Gamble