They Were Just Struggling to

Breathe
An eyewitness to a chemical attack tells FP that Assads forces
are dropping barrel bombs containing chlorine gas on hospitals
and civilian centers.

BY DAVID KENNER- APRIL 17, 2015

IRUT Dr. Mohammed Tennari first saw the six members of the Talib family when
they were carried into his cramped field hospital in northern Syria on the night of
March 16. They had been taking refuge in the basement of their home in the town of
Sarmin when a barrel bomb filled with chemical gases struck their house. The gas,
being heavier than air, quickly filtered down into the basement, poisoning the family.
Tennari and his team struggled to revive the three small children, their mother, father,
and grandmother, as life slipped away from them, he explained to me in a Skype call
earlier this month from his field hospital in Sarmin. Everything smelled of bleach; the

doctor himself felt nauseous from the fumes, and one of the nurses fainted. All six
family members would die.
There were no wounds, no bleeding, they were just struggling to breathe, he said of
the attack. Their lungs were filled with liquid as well it was suffocation, to the point
where the heart stopped beating.
His description of the Talib family moved several U.N. Security Council members
to tears this week, according to U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power. The
world diplomatic body is not usually known for outbursts of raw emotion, but its not
hard to understand why Tennaris story of what he witnessed in Sarmin would elicit
such a strong response.
The below video shows the three Talib children limp and non-responsive to medical
treatment; two are treated on the body of their dying grandmother, as the field hospital
lacked beds for all the wounded.
Tennari, 35, traveled to New York City this month to tell his story to the UN Security
Council. A native of Sarmin, he was arrested by the regime early in the Syrian revolt for
treating wounded members of the opposition. He was held for two months, and upon
being released, moved to the opposition-held areas in Idlib. He eventually ended up
running the field hospital in his hometown, which consists of 10 doctors and 30 nurses
who work around the clock to treat the victims of the vicious war in northern Syria.
A radiologist by training, Tennari not only must treat the injured with limited space
and supplies, but also says he must contend with direct attacks on the field hospital.
He said it has been shelled three times by the Syrian regime over the past month, and
18 times over the last year and a half. Areport published last month by Physicians for
Human Rights found that the Syrian regime was using attacks on medical workers as
a weapon of war, and that at least 610 medical workers had been killed since the
beginning of the conflict.
Theyre aiming for the hospital, Tennari told FP. Every time this would happen, the
government channels say theyve reclaimed the hospital from the terrorists.
This escalation comes as President Bashar al-Assads forces have suffered extensive
losses in the area. Idlib city, the provincial capital, was captured by a coalition of
Islamist rebels on March 28, becoming only the second provincial capital to fall from
Assads hands during the four-year conflict.
In an interview published April 17 in the Swedish newspaper Expressen, Assad said the

main factor for the regime losses was the huge support [for the rebels] that came
through Turkey. He also denied that his forces had used chlorine attacks, saying such
accusations were propaganda to demonize the president, [and] to demonize the
state.
There is mounting evidence, however, of multiple chlorine attacks in Idlib province
throughout last month. Human Rights Watch released a report on April 14 citing
evidence that strongly suggests Syrian regime forces had launched at least three
attacks, and perhaps as many as six, using toxic chemicals, sickening at least 206
people. The toxic gases were reportedly released by barrel bombs dropped by Syrian
army helicopters.
The Security Council moved in early March to prevent such attacks. In a rare moment
of agreement between the United States and Russia, which vetoed previous measures
against the Assad regime, the council passed Resolution 2209threatening action under
Chapter VII of the U.N. charter which authorizes the use of military force should
any party use chlorine as a weapon.
The question now is whether Security Council members will take action. On March 31,
Power said all evidence suggested the Assad regime had launched the attacks, and
that the United States supports an investigation so that there can be culpability
ascribed to the user of this monstrous weapon.
Several weeks ago, the permanent five members of the Security Council Britain,
China, France, Russia, and the United States privately discussed the prospect of
establishing an investigation into the use of chlorine, which could establish who was
responsible for carrying out the attacks. An ongoing inquiry by the Organization for
the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) had established that the toxic agent had
been used against civilians but it has no mandate to identify the perpetrators.
In the past, Russia, backed by China, had opposed any efforts to hold Syrian officials
accountable for human rights abuses. In May 2014, Russia and China cast their vetoes
to block a U.S.-backed push to authorize an International Criminal Court investigation
into atrocities. But one Security Council member said Friday that Russia has engaged
in constructive discussions with the United States and the other key Security Council
powers on the need for holding perpetrators of chlorine attacks accountable for their
crimes.
Two Security Council diplomats said the talks amongst the major powers had been
suspended a couple of weeks ago, and have been put on the back burner. It remains
unclear why, but one Security Council diplomat said that the key players on the body

were overwhelmed addressing the crisis in Yemen.

It also remains unclear what kind of inquiry the United States would favor for
establishing who is responsible for weaponizing chlorine. Britain, France, and other
Western powers have been exploring the possibility of having the Security Council
establish a commission of inquiry to determine who has carried out the chlorine
attacks. But President Barack Obamas administration has not reached an internal
agreement about the best way to approach the problem.
We need an attribution mechanism so we know precisely who carried out these
attacks; all of the evidence of course shows that they come from helicopters, only the
Assad regime has helicopters; thats very clear to us, Power told reporters after
Thursdays meeting. But we need to move forward in a manner that also makes it very
clear to all council members, and then those people responsible for these attacks have
to be held accountable.
For Majd Khalaf, a coordinator with Syrias civil defense teams, international help
cant come too soon. The civil defense volunteers provide emergency medical care to
injured civilians following an attack. It was Khalafs job to coordinate the movement of
the multiple teams in Idlib province during the March 16 attack, and ensure they had
the necessary supplies to do their job.
Khalaf sees a parallel between the chlorine attacks in Idlib and the previous use of
chemical weapons in the Damascus suburbs in 2013. The Assad regimewas accused of
small-scale chemical attacks against rebel groups in the Damascus suburbs throughout
the spring and summer of 2013, which went largely ignored by the international
community. The regime then escalated by launching a large chemical attack on Aug. 21
in the rebel-held suburb of Ghouta, killing hundreds of people.
Khalaf fears a similar dynamic of international apathy and regime escalation is playing
out in Idlib today. We are afraid that the bad cycle the regime used before in [the
Damascus suburbs], it is now using in Idlib, he said. And we are afraid that it will
lead to a big tragedy, a big massacre against civilians.
Foreign Policys U.N. senior correspondent Colum Lynch contributed to this report.
BARAA AL-HALABI/AFP/Getty Images
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