--- title: Syrian Government Accused of New Deadly Gas Attacks on Opposition description: Opposition groups accuse the Assad regime for directing deadly chlorine gas attacks at civilians canonical: https://time.com/73315/syria-gas-attack-chlorine/ author: Michelle Arrouas article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-04-23T09:43:33.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T07:26:53.891Z article:section: World og:title: Syrian Government Accused of New Deadly Gas Attacks on Opposition og:description: Opposition groups accuse the Assad regime for directing deadly chlorine gas attacks at civilians og:url: https://time.com/73315/syria-gas-attack-chlorine/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5cab5d3c9d90dc0b/69868c01cd6848348a094484/rtr3l6g3.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: A woman breathes through an oxygen mask inside a field hospital in Kfar Zeita village in the central province of Hama og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Syrian Government Accused of New Deadly Gas Attacks on Opposition twitter:description: Opposition groups accuse the Assad regime for directing deadly chlorine gas attacks at civilians twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5cab5d3c9d90dc0b/69868c01cd6848348a094484/rtr3l6g3.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Syrian Government Accused of New Deadly Gas Attacks on Opposition by [Michelle Arrouas](/author/michelle-arrouas/) ## Michelle Arrouas Apr 23, 2014 9:43 AM CUT  A woman affected by what activists say was a gas attack breathes through an oxygen mask inside a field hospital in Kfar Zeita village in syria on April 12, 2014. A woman affected by what activists say was a gas attack breathes through an oxygen mask inside a field hospital in Kfar Zeita village in syria on April 12, 2014.Reuters by [Michelle Arrouas](/author/michelle-arrouas/) ## Michelle Arrouas Apr 23, 2014 9:43 AM CUT Several alleged gas attacks on Syrian opposition groups this month have [raised](http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/4/22/syria-chemical-weaponschlorine.html "undefined") fears that forces loyal to embattled President Bashar Assad are continuing to use chemical weapons. On Tuesday, opposition groups uploaded [videos](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tCE8q9xyKg&feature=youtu.be "undefined") of people choking and convulsing after a substance rebels say is chlorine gas was fired on civilians. One boy died in a hospital near the Turkish border despite receiving treatment, _The Daily Telegraph_[ reports.](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10781382/Boy-dies-as-Syrian-regime-carries-out-gas-attack-on-rebels.html "undefined") “We have indications of the use of a toxic industrial chemical — probably chlorine — in Syria this month in the opposition-dominated village of Kfar Zeita,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki [said](http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2014/04/225056.htm "undefined") Tuesday. “We’re examining allegations that the government was responsible. We take all allegations of the use of chemicals in combat use very seriously.” Government officials from France and the U.K., have also said that there are strong “indications” that the Syrian government is using gas against civilians. Rebels [say](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/22/us-syria-crisis-chlorine-idUSBREA3L11I20140422 "undefined") that helicopters have dropped bombs with chlorine canisters in several attacks since April 11. Psaki stressed that no loophole in the in the international deal to remove Syria’s chemical weapons would allow chlorine to be deployed on the battlefield, despite the substance not being specifically listed on the agreement. The deal was struck after a sarin gas attack on civilians in August 2013. “\[The deal\] prohibits the use of any toxic chemical, including chlorine, with the intent to kill or incapacitate people, regardless of whether it’s specifically listed or not in the schedule of chemicals,” she said. “The use of any toxic chemical with the intent to cause death or harm is a clear violation of the convention.” On Tuesday, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said the Assad regime had handed over more than 86% of its chemical weapons stockpiles, including 88.7% of all Priority 1 chemicals. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/73315/syria-gas-attack-chlorine/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/73315/syria-gas-attack-chlorine/"},"headline":"Syrian Government Accused of New Deadly Gas Attacks on Opposition","datePublished":"2014-04-23T09:43:33.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:26:53.891Z","description":"Opposition groups accuse the Bashar Assad regime of directing several deadly gas attacks at civilians this month. 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