Syrian government and opposition exchange accusations over poison gas attack

The Syrian government and opposition forces exchanged accusations on Saturday over an alleged poison gas attack on Kfar Zeita village in the countryside of Hama, which led to the killing of two people and injury of about 100 others.

Syrian opposition activists claimed that government warplanes bombed Kfar Zeita village north of Hama with poison gas for the second day in a row.

The Syrian state television accused members of the al Qaeda-linked Jabhat Al-Nusra of using chlorine gas on the village and claimed that the group is preparing for a second chemical attack in the Wadi Al- Daif area in Idlib without explaining how the station knew the Front’s plans.

Meanwhile, the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition forces said that dozens were injured in a poison gas attack on Friday on the village in Hama but did not specify the type of gas used.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that many victims suffered from suffocation and breathing problems after an air attack that left thick smoke over the area.

A Syrian activist told the Associated Press that the rebel held Kfar Zeita village came under a poison gas attack while nearby towns of Morek and Khan Shaikhoun witnessed heavy clashes between government forces and opposition fighters.

Opposition activists posted an online video showing a hospital room they claimed to be in Kfar Zeita village where men and children gathered after the attack some of them were breathing through oxygen masks. The video showed six children lying in a hospital appeared to be suffering from breathing difficulties, yet the video’s credibility could not be verified from independent sources.