Syrian opposition activists are accusing the regime of Bashar al-Assad of killing hundreds of civilians in new chemical attacks. The Syrian Revolutionary Command Council claims as many as 650 people have died in a gas attack on rebel-held areas of eastern Damascus. The claims have not been independently verified, and the Syrian government has issued denials. If confirmed, they would mark the deadliest use of chemical agents in Syria’s more than two-year civil war. A United Nations inspections team is already in Syria to probe allegations of earlier chemical attacks. Speaking in Turkey, a spokesperson for the opposition Syrian National Coalition urged inspectors to investigate the new claims.

Khaled Saleh: “What we want is from those inspectors to come in and see the people that were killed in the countryside of Damascus. We want them to look at the victims. We want them to investigate who used those chemical weapons. It’s very obvious to us that these chemical weapons were used and were carried out using ballistic missiles. Only the regime has that capability, has the willingness to use them against innocent civilians.”