SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Two people - including a thirteen year old girl - died and one hundred twenty were sickened when the rebels in Aleppo were hit with a chlorine gas attack.
Chlorine was the first gas used during the first World War. That it is largely ineffective led to the development of such treats as Mustard Gas and Lewisite.
Doctors in Aleppo Tend to Scores of Victims in Gas Attack:
Rescuers and citizen journalists who went to the scene said by text message that there had been a strong smell of bleach.
One of the victims, a 13-year-old girl named Hajer Kyali, died Wednesday afternoon. She had been in intensive care since the attack, which doctors said they believed had struck her family's house directly, delivering a deadly dose of the gas.
Medical staff members described seeing people with symptoms such as shortness of breath, coughing, sneezing, irritation of the eyes, nausea and in some cases respiratory failure. Such symptoms are consistent with attacks involving chlorine, which can kill in high concentrations.
Syria promised to give up its war gas a while back but in my understanding has surrendered only a tiny portion of its stockpile.
However, chlorine gas is quite easy to make. Possibly it was used because the aggressors had no access to the more-effective gasses such as Mustard Gas and Sarin.
Additional Reporting:
- http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-37291182
- http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-aleppo-idUKKCN11C1S5
[This is by no means the first such attack. See here for Wikipedia info.]
[According to Wikipedia, earlier attacks did include Sarin. Chlorine is readily available from industrial sources]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 09 2016, @04:30PM
When you have to pick and choose different shades of rebel groups to half-assedly pit against the central government, you have failed. On purpose.
The best thing the U.S. could do is to whip out the secret technology... locating Assad, and using a hypersonic missile. The same could be done in North Korea, wiping out all military positions. But then the world would know about the capability.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by bob_super on Friday September 09 2016, @04:43PM
How would killing Assad solve the problem, exactly?
I'd like to point out the very similar country next door where we removed the strongman, and how peaceful it's been since...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 09 2016, @04:48PM
You use your ties to rebel groups to prop up a pro-US strongman.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Friday September 09 2016, @04:54PM
Who absentmindedly trips a hypersonic Russian missile...
(Score: 3, Insightful) by tangomargarine on Friday September 09 2016, @05:42PM
Because that worked so well in Iran
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"