Syrians Try to Build Case for Chlorine Attacks

Two years after President Bashar Assad agreed to destroy his chemical arsenal and joined the Chemical Weapons Convention, activists say they have documented 18 cases of chlorine gas used in the country's rebel-held north since March 6, when the United Nations issued a resolution determining that chlorine was used in Syria and warning of repercussions. They say the attacks have killed nine people and injured hundreds. The Syrian government denies using chlorine gas. But activists and residents of the villages hit say the attacks, usually at night, are clearly by government forces. The chlorine bombs are dropped in barrels from the skies, and residents say they hear the buzz of helicopters first. Syrian military forces are the only combatants in the civil war known to fly helicopters, and the villages hit are pro-rebel, largely in the northwestern province of Idlib.