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Conflict in Syria

Russian Defense Ministry: No sarin, chlorine-harmed patients at Douma’s hospital

Some NGOs, including the White Helmets, claim that chemical weapons were used in Douma, a suburb of the Syrian capital on April 7

© EPA-EFE/MOHAMMED BADRA

MOSCOW, April 10. /TASS/. Russian radiation, chemical and bacteriological protection officers have inspected the hospital of Douma, in Eastern Ghouta, to find no patients who might have suffered from the effects of chemical weapons, the chief of the Russian Defense Ministry’s Radiation, Chemical and Bacteriological Protection Force, Aleksandr Rodionov, said on the Rossiya-1 television channel.

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"The inspection found out that not a single person having symptoms of sarin or chlorine poisoning have been brought to the hospital. The patients who were examined at the hospital had no traces of effects caused by nerve gases, such as sarin or chlorine," Rodionov said.

A number of non-governmental organizations, including Syria’s White Helmets, allege that chemical weapons were used in Douma, Eastern Ghouta on April 7. According to a statement uploaded to that organization’s website on April 8, chlorine bombs had been dropped on the city, which caused dozens of fatalities. Many other civilians were rumored to have been taken to hospital.

The Russian Foreign Ministry dismissed this as fake news. The Russian Defense Ministry recalled that White Helmets were notorious for spreading falsehoods. Earlier, several Russian official agencies repeatedly warned that preparations were being made in different parts of Syria for provocations and simulated chemical attacks, which could be blamed on government forces.

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