United Nations’ Wake Up Call: Another alleged chemical attack reported in Syria’s Hama province

Sept, 08, 2016:Fighting between Syrian government army and insurgents in Syria's central Hama province forced about 100,000 people to leave their homes between August 28 and September 5, the U.N. humanitarian agency said Wednesday.

OCHA (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) said figures from a camp coordination group show nearly half of the displaced from Hama arrived in the neighboring rebel-held Idlib province.

Others fled toward government-controlled Hama city, where four mosques were converted into temporary shelters, OCHA said. In rural areas of Hama province dozens of schools were also converted into shelters.

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However, many displaced families are sleeping outdoors in parks in Idlib, OCHA said, due to a shortage of shelter space.

Chlorine attack

Meanwhile, an official in Syria's rebel-held Aleppo, Mohammed Abu Jaafar, said that at least one person died of heart failure from a suspected chlorine attack reported Tuesday.

The Syria Civil Defense group said helicopters dropped several barrels containing chlorine on the opposition-held al-Sukkari neighborhood.

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The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported a barrel bomb attack in the area, but could not confirm whether chlorine was involved.

Accusations of chemical attacks have been a fixture of the Syrian conflict with both the government and rebels blaming the other during the past five years.

International inspectors issued a report last month saying government forces and Islamic State militants had each carried out chemical attacks. United Nations experts said Tuesday more investigations are ongoing into alleged chemical attacks earlier this year, including in Aleppo. (VOA)