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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Syrian rebels 'use chemical weapon' | Syrian rebels 'use chemical weapon' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Syrian state media says rebels fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad have fired a chemical weapon in the north of the country. | Syrian state media says rebels fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad have fired a chemical weapon in the north of the country. |
| "Terrorists launched a missile containing chemical products into the region of Khan al-Assal in the province of Aleppo, killing 15 people, mainly civilians", Sana news agency said. | "Terrorists launched a missile containing chemical products into the region of Khan al-Assal in the province of Aleppo, killing 15 people, mainly civilians", Sana news agency said. |
| The government routinely refers to rebels as "terrorists". | The government routinely refers to rebels as "terrorists". |
| Rebels denied the report, accusing the government of using chemical agents. | |
| "We were hearing reports from early this morning about a regime attack on Khan al-Assal, and we believe they fired a Scud with chemical agents," a senior rebel and spokesman for the Higher Military Council in Aleppo, Qassim Saadeddine, told Reuters news agency. | |
| "Then suddenly we learned that the regime was turning these reports against us. The rebels were not behind this attack." | |
| The Aleppo Media Centre, which is affiliated with the rebels, said there had been cases of "suffocation and poison'' among civilians in Khan al-Assal after a surface-to-surface missile was fired at the area. | The Aleppo Media Centre, which is affiliated with the rebels, said there had been cases of "suffocation and poison'' among civilians in Khan al-Assal after a surface-to-surface missile was fired at the area. |
| But it said this was "most likely" due to use of "poisonous gases" by government forces. | But it said this was "most likely" due to use of "poisonous gases" by government forces. |
| Syria's Information Minister Omran al-Zoabi said that as many as 86 people had been injured in Khan al-Assal, calling the incident a "dangerous escalation". | |
| He also said that Turkey and Qatar, both of which support Syria's uprising, bore "legal, moral and political responsibility" for the attack, state TV reported. | |
| The Syrian government itself has a large stockpile of chemical weapons, and there has been widespread international concern about their security and the possibility that they might be used. | The Syrian government itself has a large stockpile of chemical weapons, and there has been widespread international concern about their security and the possibility that they might be used. |
| An estimated 70,000 people have been killed and one million have fled Syria since the uprising against Bashar al-Assad began two years ago. | An estimated 70,000 people have been killed and one million have fled Syria since the uprising against Bashar al-Assad began two years ago. |