Use of chemical weapons in the Syrian civil war

U.N. security experts have said they were negotiating with Syrian and Russian authorities for international chemical inspectors to deploy to the site of an alleged toxic gas attack near Damascus, after a reconnaissance mission came under fire.

Three Belgian companies are facing prosecution for allegedly exporting a chemical that can be used to make the deadly nerve agent sarin to Syria, in breach of international sanctions, officials said on April 18.

Turkey and Russia held talks on April 18 regarding developments in Syria, including the situation in Eastern Ghouta, Idlib and northern Syria following a joint strike by the U.S., France and the U.K. punishing the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime.

Inspectors from the OPCW chemical watchdog will begin their investigation on April 15 at the site of an alleged chemical attack near Damascus, Agence France-Presse reported, citing a senior official.

The international community has blasted the Syrian regime in Syria over claims of use of chemical weapons in Eastern Ghouta, with the U.S. President Donald Trump calling Bashar Al-Assad "an animal."

Theresa May is preparing to chair a meeting of the national security council after the midnight deadline she set Moscow over the spy poisoning case passed, The Guardian writes. 

US Head of State Administration Donald Trump is considering a new military operation against the Syrian government in response to intelligence reports on the continued use of chemical weapons by the regime in Damascus, The Washington Post quoted FOCUSS as saying. The US edition underlines that Washington may put a second blow to the Middle East in less than a year.

The United States wants the United Nations Security Council to create a new inquiry into who is to blame for chemical weapons attacks in Syria, and U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley said on Thursday she hopes to put it to a vote as early as next week.

Medics in Syria say a child has died and a dozen more are being treated after another suspected chlorine gas attack, reported Aljazeera. 

Witnesses reported smelling the gas after an explosion in the rebel-held area of Eastern Ghouta.

The Syrian government has denied using chemical weapons in the war.

Turkey has expressed concerns over the Syrian regime’s intensified attacks on the rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta involving the use of chlorine bombs and informed Russia and Iran – the regime’s main allies – about its disturbance.