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Innocent children lie dead in pictures that will horrify the world.

Many of the victims were found huddled in their beds – as if still sleeping. Others died in agony, convulsing and foaming at the mouth.

They were among more than 1,000 Syrian civilians, including men, women and children, massacred in a suspected chemical weapons attack.

The slaughter – the worst atrocity of the nation’s brutal civil war – came just days after a United Nations weapons inspection team arrived in Syria.

Responsibility for the sarin-style nerve gas bombardment in the Al Ghouta area, east of the capital Damascus, was ­immediately denied by President Bashar al Assad’s beleaguered regime.

Officials dismissed the claims as “illogical and fabricated”. They said it was a sign of “hysteria and floundering” by the government’s enemies.

But as shocking pictures of the carnage were beamed around the world last night there were mounting calls for military intervention.

Foreign Secretary William Hague vowed the culprits would be held to account.

He added: “If verified, this would mark a shocking escalation in the use of chemical weapons in Syria.”

His concern was echoed by the European Union which stressed the need for a “thorough and immediate” investigation.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry branded the killings “a crime against humanity”.

Unverified images included lines of apparently dead children, their bodies wrapped in shrouds ready for burial.

The death toll is said to be the highest for a single day in the two and a half years of civil war that has claimed more than 100,000 lives on all sides.

Rebels claim Assad’s troops launched a desperate artillery bombardment against pockets of resistance outside east Damascus early yesterday.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on contacts within Syria, said the shelling was intense and hit the eastern suburbs of Zamalka, Arbeen and Ein Tarma.

They claim the military fired “rockets with poisonous gas heads” in the 3am attack.

Rescuer Abu Nidal told of the chilling scenes following the shelling.

He said: “We would go into a house and everything was in its place, every person was in their place.

“They were lying where they had been. They looked like they were asleep. But they were dead, entire families.

"We saw men collapsed on staircases and in doorways. It looked like they were trying to go in and help and were then overcome themselves.”

(Image: Getty)

Survivor Farah al-Shami, from the town of Mouadamiya, southwest of the capital, said she thought her region was too close to a military encampment to be affected.

She said: “At the same time the UN was here – it seemed impossible. But then I started to feel dizzy. I was choking and my eyes were burning.”

Majid Abu Ali, a doctor in the eastern suburb of Douma, said in a Skype interview: “The injuries correspond with sarin gas – difficulty breathing, perspiration, convulsions and loss of consciousness to the point of death.”

Another doctor, Abu Omar, said he was swamped with casualties, including nine rescuers who died.

He added: “We didn’t know what to do there were so many cases.

"At first they were being affected by the gas. But now they’re dying in the regular shelling. The bombs just won’t stop.”

Barack Obama warned earlier this year that the use of chemical warfare would mean crossing a “clear red line”.

And in May, the Mirror exclusively revealed British spies had obtained proof of chemical weapons being used in Syria.

Samples sent to the MoD’s research labs in Porton Down, Wilts tested positive.

Russia’s foreign ministry, which has backed Assad and vetoed UN attempts to intervene, has called for a “fair and professional investigation” into the latest slaughter.

Deputy Head of the Western-backed Syria National Coalition, George Sabra, claimed in Istanbul that 1,300 people had died.

He said: “Today’s crimes are not the first time the regime has used chemical weapons. But they constitute a significant turning point… this time it was for annihilation rather than terror.”

The UN backed a call by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon for a “thorough, impartial and prompt investigation” into the alleged attack.

A UN team was in Syria at the time but only has a mandate to probe three other allegations of chemical weapons use.

Only Russia and China, allies to Assad’s regime, quibbled over the wording of the call.

Some observers claimed the severity of the attack just three days after UN inspectors arrived made it “unlikely” the regime was guilty.

Rolf Ekeus, a former UN weapons inspector in Iraq, said: “It would be very peculiar if they were to do this at the exact moment the international inspectors come into the country.”

* There are now nearly two million Syrian refugees, including women and children.

If you want to make a donation to help the Syrian people, call the Disasters Emergency Committee’s Syria Crisis Appeal hotline 0370 60 60 900 or visit www.dec.org.uk.

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Voice of the Mirror: Why world must see the shocking reality

The pictures of children allegedly killed by a chemical weapons attack in Syria are harrowing, and our decision to publish them was not taken lightly.

But we believe the world needs to see the shocking reality of a civil war that has claimed thousands of lives and displaced millions.

Doing nothing isn’t an option but Foreign Secretary William Hague has been forced to accept that arming rebels or despatching military forces isn’t viable either.

Instead, the Government should concentrate on urging those states with influence over President Assad, especially Russia and Iran, to press for restraint.

Women, children and men are being killed in huge numbers by both sides in a bitter battle seemingly without end.

We can wring our hands impotently, issue empty threats or accept a difficult diplomatic road offers the best chance of success.

What counts is what works, so we should acknowledge uncomfortable limitations while seeking to exert maximum influence.

Why UN inspectors must be allowed into Al Ghouta, by Professor Fawaz Gerges

We lack independent information to verify opposition claims about the apparent use of poison, and the counter claims of the Assad regime that it is a fabrication to divert attention from rebel losses in strategic Al Ghouta.

If the attacks have taken place, this would affect the “red line” established by Obama about the use of chemical weapons, and intensify the pressure on him to retaliate militarily against Assad.

The British and French would probably join any US military strikes.

There are several unanswered questions. Why would the Assad government use chemical weapons while there is a UN team in Damascus?

Why would the Syrian army deploy poison when it has gained the upper hand in Al Ghouta?

Why would Assad use chemical weapons at this stage and trigger investigations?

This seems illogical, though Assad has confounded us before by irrationality and brutality. We should not be shocked.

If Assad was intelligent, which he is not, he would allow the inspectors to visit the sites.

My instinct would be that he will say it is too dangerous for the UN to travel to Al Ghouta.

Finally, the burden of truth lies on the Assad regime.