The Syrian state media reported Saturday that 21 people in the Hama Province were hospitalized with symptoms of poison gas exposure after their village of al-Rasif was shelled by rebels.



The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed the details of the story, but said they were uncertain if the chemicals were launched by shells, or simply the result of leaks caused by the shelling.



This of course is a benefit of the doubt not afforded to Syrian government strikes, where even rumors of anyone getting sick leads to international outcry, and rejection of any proper investigations as unnecessary. Al-Qaeda’s Nusra Front is known to have limited chemical weapons, and shells to deliver them.



The area where the shelling took place, in Hama Province, is along the front-line in Syrian government territory next to rebel-held Idlib. A Russia-Turkey deal has tried to keep the two sides separated, but with al-Qaeda having routed the other rebels, and never respecting the deal in the first place, it seems that could fall apart at any time, and start the fight for the last rebel-held territory in war-torn Syria.





Author: Jason Ditz Jason Ditz is news editor of Antiwar.com. View all posts by Jason Ditz