DAMASCUS, Syria (CNN) — US President Donald Trump warned Sunday of a “big price to pay” in Syria after a suspected chemical attack on the last rebel-held town in Eastern Ghouta left scores dead and injured.
Dozens of Syrians were killed and hundreds of others were affected by the attack on Douma, on the outskirts of the capital Damascus, rescue workers and an aid group said Sunday.
Anti-government activists claimed Syrian military helicopters dropped barrel bombs filled with chemicals on the town on Saturday night, suffocating some residents and sending others into violent convulsions.
Graphic footage shot by rescuers and activists show people — including children — dead and injured, some ghostly white and foaming at the mouth in makeshift medical centers. Others were found suffocated in their homes, according to first responders.
On Sunday the Syrian government and Russia, its key ally, vehemently denied involvement and accused rebels in Douma of fabricating the chemical attack claims in order to hinder the army’s advances and provoke international military intervention.
Donald J. Trump
✔@realDonaldTrump
Many dead, including women and children, in mindless CHEMICAL attack in Syria. Area of atrocity is in lockdown and encircled by Syrian Army, making it completely inaccessible to outside world. President Putin, Russia and Iran are responsible for backing Animal Assad. Big price…
Donald J. Trump
✔@realDonaldTrump
….to pay. Open area immediately for medical help and verification. Another humanitarian disaster for no reason whatsoever. SICK!
Trump on Sunday described the attack as “SICK” and criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iran for supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
“Many dead, including women and children, in mindless CHEMICAL attack in Syria,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “Area of atrocity is in lockdown and encircled by Syrian Army, making it completely inaccessible to outside world. President Putin, Russia and Iran are responsible for backing Animal Assad.
“Big price to pay. Open area immediately for medical help and verification. Another humanitarian disaster for no reason whatsoever. SICK!”
Donald J. Trump
✔@realDonaldTrump
If President Obama had crossed his stated Red Line In The Sand, the Syrian disaster would have ended long ago! Animal Assad would have been history!
Saturday’s attack occurred almost a year to the day after the United States struck a Syrian airfield in response to a chemical attack on the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhoun.
The State Department described the incident in Douma as “horrifying” and said that if the use of chemical agents in the attack was confirmed, it would “demand an immediate response by the international community.”
At least 48 people died and 500 others displayed symptoms similar to exposure to “toxic gas” in the Douma area on Saturday, said the White Helmets rescue group and the Syrian American Medical Society, a charity, in a joint statement on Sunday.
Other groups have announced varying death tolls in the wake of the attack. CNN could not independently verify the authenticity of the footage or the reports.
Following the attack on Saturday night, doctors in Eastern Ghouta saw patients convulsing and some who appeared to be paralyzed and unresponsive, an official with the Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations (UOSSM) told CNN.
The official, who asked to be identified as Dr. Jad and is in touch with local doctors, said one of the affected areas was the residential area of Masaken, where hundreds of civilians reside in underground shelters.
