A Syrian rescue service operating in rebel-held territory said on Tuesday that a helicopter dropped containers of toxic&nbsp;gas&nbsp;overnight on a town close to where a Russian military helicopter was shot down hours earlier. 
 
The opposition Syrian National Coalition (SNC) accused President Bashar al Assad of being behind the attack. Assad has denied previous accusations of using chemical weapons. 
 
A spokesman for the Syria Civil Defence said 33 people, mostly women and children, were affected by the&nbsp;gas, which they suspect was chlorine, in Saraqeb, in rebel-held Idlib province. 
 
The group, which describes itself as a neutral band of search and rescue volunteers, posted a video on YouTube apparently showing a number of men struggling to breathe and being given oxygen masks by people in civil defence uniforms. 
 
&quot;Medium-sized barrels fell containing toxic&nbsp;gasses. The Syrian Civil Defence was not able to determine the type of the&nbsp;gas,&quot; said the spokesman. 
 
The Syrian government and its Russian allies were not immediately available for comment.&nbsp;The SNC said in a statement: &quot;After shelling, besieging and killing civilians and perpetrating war crimes on them, the Assad regime has resorted once again, and in breach of UN resolutions 2118 and 2235, to using chemical substances and toxic&nbsp;gasses.&nbsp;The daily reality confirms that all the international agreements and previous security council decisions, be they about chemical weapons or otherwise, are meaningless for the Assad regime.&quot; 
 
The Civil Defence spokesman said it was the second time Saraqeb had been hit by toxic&nbsp;gas. The group was aware of around nine suspected chlorine&nbsp;gas&nbsp;incidents across Idlib province since the conflict began, he said.&nbsp;Monitors at the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which tracks violence on all sides in the civil war, said barrel bombs fell on Saraqeb late on Monday, wounding a large number of citizens. 
 
Russia&#39;s defence ministry said a Russian helicopter was shot down near Saraqeb during the day on Monday, killing all five people on board, in the biggest officially acknowledged loss of life for Russian forces since they started operations in Syria. 
 
 
Denials 
 
The helicopter came down roughly mid-way between Aleppo and Russia&#39;s main air base at Khmeimim in the western province of Latakia, near the Mediterranean coast. 
 
Russian air power began supporting Syrian President Bashar al Assad late last year, an intervention which tipped the balance of the war in Assad&#39;s favour, eroding gains the rebels had made that year.&nbsp;The Russian defence ministry said the Mi-8 military transport helicopter was shot down after delivering humanitarian aid to Aleppo as it made its way back to Khmeimim.&nbsp;No group has claimed responsibility for downing the helicopter. 
 
Government and opposition forces have both denied using chemical weapons during the five-year-old civil war. Western powers say the government has been responsible for chlorine and other chemical attacks. The government and Russia have accused rebels of using poison&nbsp;gas. 
 
UN&nbsp;investigators established that sarin&nbsp;gas&nbsp;was used in Eastern Ghouta in 2013. The United States accused Damascus of that attack, which it estimates killed 1,429 people, including at least 426 children. Damascus denied responsibility, and blamed rebels. 
 
Later that year the United Nations and the Syrian government agreed to destroy the state&#39;s declared stockpile of chemical weapons, a process completed in January 2016. 
 
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons confirmed in late 2015 that sulphur mustard, commonly known as mustard&nbsp;gas, had been used for the first time in the conflict, without saying which party in the many-sided conflict it thought had used it. 
 
(Reuters)

The Civil Defence spokesman said it was the second time Saraqeb had been hit by toxic gas

A Syrian rescue service operating in rebel-held territory said on Tuesday that a helicopter dropped containers of toxic gas overnight on a town close to where a Russian military helicopter was shot down hours earlier. The opposition Syrian National Coalition (SNC) accused President Bashar al Assad of being behind the attack. Assad has denied previous accusations of using chemical weapons. A spokesman for the Syria Civil Defence said 33 people, mostly women and children, were affected by the gas, which they suspect was chlorine, in Saraqeb, in rebel-held Idlib province. The group, which describes itself as a neutral band of search and rescue volunteers, posted a video on YouTube apparently showing a number of men struggling to breathe and being given oxygen masks by people in civil defence uniforms. "Medium-sized barrels fell containing toxic gasses. The Syrian Civil Defence was not able to determine the type of the gas," said the spokesman. The Syrian government and its Russian allies were not immediately available for comment. The SNC said in a statement: "After shelling, besieging and killing civilians and perpetrating war crimes on them, the Assad regime has resorted once again, and in breach of UN resolutions 2118 and 2235, to using chemical substances and toxic gasses. The daily reality confirms that all the international agreements and previous security council decisions, be they about chemical weapons or otherwise, are meaningless for the Assad regime." The Civil Defence spokesman said it was the second time Saraqeb had been hit by toxic gas. The group was aware of around nine suspected chlorine gas incidents across Idlib province since the conflict began, he said. Monitors at the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which tracks violence on all sides in the civil war, said barrel bombs fell on Saraqeb late on Monday, wounding a large number of citizens. Russia's defence ministry said a Russian helicopter was shot down near Saraqeb during the day on Monday, killing all five people on board, in the biggest officially acknowledged loss of life for Russian forces since they started operations in Syria. Denials The helicopter came down roughly mid-way between Aleppo and Russia's main air base at Khmeimim in the western province of Latakia, near the Mediterranean coast. Russian air power began supporting Syrian President Bashar al Assad late last year, an intervention which tipped the balance of the war in Assad's favour, eroding gains the rebels had made that year. The Russian defence ministry said the Mi-8 military transport helicopter was shot down after delivering humanitarian aid to Aleppo as it made its way back to Khmeimim. No group has claimed responsibility for downing the helicopter. Government and opposition forces have both denied using chemical weapons during the five-year-old civil war. Western powers say the government has been responsible for chlorine and other chemical attacks. The government and Russia have accused rebels of using poison gas. UN investigators established that sarin gas was used in Eastern Ghouta in 2013. The United States accused Damascus of that attack, which it estimates killed 1,429 people, including at least 426 children. Damascus denied responsibility, and blamed rebels. Later that year the United Nations and the Syrian government agreed to destroy the state's declared stockpile of chemical weapons, a process completed in January 2016. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons confirmed in late 2015 that sulphur mustard, commonly known as mustard gas, had been used for the first time in the conflict, without saying which party in the many-sided conflict it thought had used it. (Reuters)

Rescuers say toxic gas dropped on Syrian town where Russian helicopter was shot down

United Nations deputy Syria envoy Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy on Sunday invited Damascus to new peace talks with the opposition at the end of August, drawing a positive response from the government. 
 
On Tuesday, the world body&#39;s special envoy Staffan de Mistura told reporters in Geneva he wanted &quot;to proceed with a third round of intra-Syrian talks towards the end of August&quot; after two previous rounds of talks this year ended in failure. 
 
De Mistura has struggled to keep the peace process alive amid a surge in fighting between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad&#39;s forces and rebel groups. 
 
&quot;I informed the minister and his deputy of the intention of the special envoy De Mistura to reconvene the inter-Syrian talks towards the end of August,&quot; Ramzy said after meeting foreign minister Walid Muallem and his deputy Faisal Muqdad. 
 
&quot;I explained to the minister how we intend to proceed, and we discussed how to render this process of political transition which has already been endorsed by the Security Council to be a credible one, and we exchanged views on that,&quot; Ramzy said. 
 
He said Muallem &quot;confirmed the intention of the Syrian government to participate in these talks once they are held&quot;. 
 
Muqdad said Syria&#39;s government was &quot;ready to resume the talks with no preconditions in an inter-Syrian context with no foreign interference&quot;, the official SANA news agency reported him as saying. 
 
De Mistura&#39;s announcement comes with the armed opposition facing difficulties, especially in the northern city of Aleppo where government forces are besieging rebel-held districts. 
 
A peace roadmap, endorsed in December by the UN, called for the creation of a transitional body, which should have occurred on August 1, a new constitution and elections by mid-2017. 
 
The UN-brokered talks have so far been deadlocked over Assad&#39;s fate. 
 
The government has ruled out negotiations on his possible departure, while the main opposition High Negotiations Committee has said it will not agree to any deal that leaves Assad in power. 
 
Since Syria was plunged into chaos in 2011, more than 280,000 people have been killed and upwards of half the population has been displaced. 
 
(AFP)

UN special envoy has struggled to keep the peace process alive amid a surge in fighting between Syrian forces and rebel groups

United Nations deputy Syria envoy Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy on Sunday invited Damascus to new peace talks with the opposition at the end of August, drawing a positive response from the government. On Tuesday, the world body's special envoy Staffan de Mistura told reporters in Geneva he wanted "to proceed with a third round of intra-Syrian talks towards the end of August" after two previous rounds of talks this year ended in failure. De Mistura has struggled to keep the peace process alive amid a surge in fighting between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces and rebel groups. "I informed the minister and his deputy of the intention of the special envoy De Mistura to reconvene the inter-Syrian talks towards the end of August," Ramzy said after meeting foreign minister Walid Muallem and his deputy Faisal Muqdad. "I explained to the minister how we intend to proceed, and we discussed how to render this process of political transition which has already been endorsed by the Security Council to be a credible one, and we exchanged views on that," Ramzy said. He said Muallem "confirmed the intention of the Syrian government to participate in these talks once they are held". Muqdad said Syria's government was "ready to resume the talks with no preconditions in an inter-Syrian context with no foreign interference", the official SANA news agency reported him as saying. De Mistura's announcement comes with the armed opposition facing difficulties, especially in the northern city of Aleppo where government forces are besieging rebel-held districts. A peace roadmap, endorsed in December by the UN, called for the creation of a transitional body, which should have occurred on August 1, a new constitution and elections by mid-2017. The UN-brokered talks have so far been deadlocked over Assad's fate. The government has ruled out negotiations on his possible departure, while the main opposition High Negotiations Committee has said it will not agree to any deal that leaves Assad in power. Since Syria was plunged into chaos in 2011, more than 280,000 people have been killed and upwards of half the population has been displaced. (AFP)

UN initiates third round of peace talks with Syria

Syria&#39;s al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front has abducted the commander of the Western-backed Jaish al-Tahrir brigade, along with several of his aides and scores of fighters in coordinated raids in northern Syria, Jaish al Tahrir said on Sunday. 
 
Jaish al Tahrir was set up in February as part of an effort to forge unity among moderate rebels in the Free Syrian Army (FSA) alliance at a time when a major Islamic State advance threatened their main stronghold near the Turkish border. 
 
The powerful Islamist Nusra Front is ideologically opposed to the more moderate FSA rebels and their Western supporters, but occasionally fights alongside them against Islamist State. 
 
Jaish al Tahrir, which has 4,000 well trained fighters, said their leader Mohammad al Ghabi and a number of his aides were taken in a house raid in Kfr Nubl in Idlib province Saturday night. 
 
&quot;They were injured and kidnapped and taken to an unknown location,&quot; Jaish al Tahrir said in a statement. 
 
Nusra Front fighters stormed several locations in coordinated raids and set up checkpoints to arrest around 40 fighters, the group said. 
 
The Nusra Front has previously targetted rebel groups supported by the West, leading to the dissolution of the Syria Revolutionaries Front and the Hazzm movement last year. 
 
In March, the al Qaeda offshoot seized the bases and weapons of the 13th Division rebel group, one of the factions that has received foreign military aid, capturing US-made anti-tank missiles. 
 
Jaish al Tahrir called on Syria&#39;s main rebel groups al Ahrar al Sham and others to put pressure on Nusra to release their leader and prevent an escalation in tensions. 
 
They also said they wanted a judicial court that would arbitrate their differences. Nusra Front has accused leaders of Jaish al Tahrir of participating in a US-led programme to train and equip Syrian insurgents to fight Islamic State. Nusra Front regards the United States as an enemy. 
 
Jaish al Tahrir called on restraint by its fighters on their main fronts in northern Syria near the Turkish border where they are battling Islamic State militants and fighting the Syrian government army and allied Iranian-backed militias in Aleppo countryside and Latakia province. 
 
(Reuters)

Nusra Front also captured some aides and scores of fighters

Syria's al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front has abducted the commander of the Western-backed Jaish al-Tahrir brigade, along with several of his aides and scores of fighters in coordinated raids in northern Syria, Jaish al Tahrir said on Sunday. Jaish al Tahrir was set up in February as part of an effort to forge unity among moderate rebels in the Free Syrian Army (FSA) alliance at a time when a major Islamic State advance threatened their main stronghold near the Turkish border. The powerful Islamist Nusra Front is ideologically opposed to the more moderate FSA rebels and their Western supporters, but occasionally fights alongside them against Islamist State. Jaish al Tahrir, which has 4,000 well trained fighters, said their leader Mohammad al Ghabi and a number of his aides were taken in a house raid in Kfr Nubl in Idlib province Saturday night. "They were injured and kidnapped and taken to an unknown location," Jaish al Tahrir said in a statement. Nusra Front fighters stormed several locations in coordinated raids and set up checkpoints to arrest around 40 fighters, the group said. The Nusra Front has previously targetted rebel groups supported by the West, leading to the dissolution of the Syria Revolutionaries Front and the Hazzm movement last year. In March, the al Qaeda offshoot seized the bases and weapons of the 13th Division rebel group, one of the factions that has received foreign military aid, capturing US-made anti-tank missiles. Jaish al Tahrir called on Syria's main rebel groups al Ahrar al Sham and others to put pressure on Nusra to release their leader and prevent an escalation in tensions. They also said they wanted a judicial court that would arbitrate their differences. Nusra Front has accused leaders of Jaish al Tahrir of participating in a US-led programme to train and equip Syrian insurgents to fight Islamic State. Nusra Front regards the United States as an enemy. Jaish al Tahrir called on restraint by its fighters on their main fronts in northern Syria near the Turkish border where they are battling Islamic State militants and fighting the Syrian government army and allied Iranian-backed militias in Aleppo countryside and Latakia province. (Reuters)

Syrian al Qaeda-linked group abducts Western-backed commander

A Syrian jet bomber crashed just after take-off from Syria&#39;s Hama airport after it encountered a technical problem, a Syrian military source said on Sunday. 
 
The military source, quoted by Syrian state media, did not say when the crash had occurred or provide any other details. 
 
Several Russian-manufactured warplanes have crashed since the start of the year, mostly due to technical failures which defence analysts have generally attributed to age. 
 
A rebel source told Reuters the plane that crashed was a Russian Mig 21 fighter but this could not be independently verified. 
(Reuters)

Several Russian warplanes crashed earlier this year due to technical failures

A Syrian jet bomber crashed just after take-off from Syria's Hama airport after it encountered a technical problem, a Syrian military source said on Sunday. The military source, quoted by Syrian state media, did not say when the crash had occurred or provide any other details. Several Russian-manufactured warplanes have crashed since the start of the year, mostly due to technical failures which defence analysts have generally attributed to age. A rebel source told Reuters the plane that crashed was a Russian Mig 21 fighter but this could not be independently verified. (Reuters)

Syrian warplane crashes after take-off from Hama airport - military source

The United Nations said today&nbsp;it was worried about 8,000 Syrians trapped by fighting north of Aleppo where Islamic State has advanced against rebels, and that both Kurdish and rebel authorities had hindered people fleeing the area.

The fighting has displaced thousands more Syrians near the Turkish frontier where more than 160,000 people are already sheltering, most of whom fled fighting earlier this year, the U.N. says.

&quot;An unknown number of people are also unable to flee due to fighting and the closure of the main road leading north towards the town of Azaz in northwestern Syria,&quot; said a joint statement from the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Syria and the Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Crisis.

Islamic State advanced in recent days into the opposition-held town of Marea.

The Turkish-backed rebels who are battling Islamic State north of Aleppo have also been involved in hostilities with the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, which controls wide areas of territory to the west of Marea.

In a separate report on the situation, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said civilians fleeing the IS advance had been prevented by Syrian Kurdish authorities from entering areas under their control in response to rebel shelling of a Kurdish-held area of Aleppo.

It said about 2,000 people had managed to evacuate Marea and nearby Sheikh Issa, which were encircled by Islamic State on May 27. &quot;However, an estimated 7,000 civilians still remain inside and unable to leave due to restrictions imposed by Kurdish authorities,&quot; it added. OCHA said this was a Kurdish response to rebel shelling of Aleppo&#39;s Kurdish-held Sheikh Maqsoud area.

Meanwhile, opposition authorities in the rebel-held town of Azaz near the Turkish border had issued a directive on May 24 to not let in any more people fleeing Islamic State-held areas, OCHA said.

The court that issued the order cited fears of infiltration by covert Islamic State militants posing as internally displaced people (IDPs), after 8,000 IDPs arrived in Azaz.

&quot;Humanitarian agencies have continued to suspend operations and evacuate staff from towns in close proximity to hostilities,&quot; the OCHA report said.

The U.N. is worried about 8,000 Syrian trapped by fighting north of Aleppo

The United Nations said today it was worried about 8,000 Syrians trapped by fighting north of Aleppo where Islamic State has advanced against rebels, and that both Kurdish and rebel authorities had hindered people fleeing the area. The fighting has displaced thousands more Syrians near the Turkish frontier where more than 160,000 people are already sheltering, most of whom fled fighting earlier this year, the U.N. says. "An unknown number of people are also unable to flee due to fighting and the closure of the main road leading north towards the town of Azaz in northwestern Syria," said a joint statement from the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Syria and the Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Crisis. Islamic State advanced in recent days into the opposition-held town of Marea. The Turkish-backed rebels who are battling Islamic State north of Aleppo have also been involved in hostilities with the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, which controls wide areas of territory to the west of Marea. In a separate report on the situation, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said civilians fleeing the IS advance had been prevented by Syrian Kurdish authorities from entering areas under their control in response to rebel shelling of a Kurdish-held area of Aleppo. It said about 2,000 people had managed to evacuate Marea and nearby Sheikh Issa, which were encircled by Islamic State on May 27. "However, an estimated 7,000 civilians still remain inside and unable to leave due to restrictions imposed by Kurdish authorities," it added. OCHA said this was a Kurdish response to rebel shelling of Aleppo's Kurdish-held Sheikh Maqsoud area. Meanwhile, opposition authorities in the rebel-held town of Azaz near the Turkish border had issued a directive on May 24 to not let in any more people fleeing Islamic State-held areas, OCHA said. The court that issued the order cited fears of infiltration by covert Islamic State militants posing as internally displaced people (IDPs), after 8,000 IDPs arrived in Azaz. "Humanitarian agencies have continued to suspend operations and evacuate staff from towns in close proximity to hostilities," the OCHA report said.

U.N. worried for Syrians stranded by Islamic State advance

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