Syria Live Coverage: The Uncertainties Over Chemical Weapons

President Assad on Wednesday with families of those killed in the conflict

See also today's Israel, Palestine (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Obama Visits West Bank
Wednesday's Syria Live Coverage: Trading Blame Over "Chemical Attacks"
Syria Special: Assessing Tuesday's "Chemical Weapons Attacks"...and Who is Responsible

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1938 GMT: Whole Neighborhoods Leveled in Aleppo. In the last two days, many districts in Aleppo have been intensely bombed by Assad's airforce. By the end of last night, more than a dozen civilians were killed and dozens more injured as homes collapsed in the Sukary district, trapping many in the rubble.

Today, this video shows some of the devastation in the Tal Zarazir district, in the southwestern part of the city, close to Sukkary (map).

Homs may have faired even worse today. Earlier we posted videos from Talbiseh (see entry 1405) but soon after that a contact told us that the bombing in Baba Amr was at "near historic proportions." That may have been hyperbole, but here's a video that reportedly shows some of the explosions:

Then again, videos like this one have been posted today showing the various suburbs and countryside of East Ghouta, east of Damascus. We can count 5 fires in this video alone:

However, videos that appear to show cluster munitions dropped on Qaboun, massive explosions in Kafar Batna where at least 6 people reportedly died, or smoke rising from Jobar, all might show equally brutal results.

With this level of bombing, in almost every corner of the country, is it any surprise that 100-150 people die every day in Syria?

1900 GMT: Death Toll Rises. 117 people have been killed today, according to the Local Coordination Committees, though the death toll could continue to rise:

62 martyrs were reported in Damascus and its suburbs, 20 of them in Mazraa explosion alone; 18 in Homs; 9 in Idlib; 8 in Aleppo; 8 in Daraa; 7 in Hama; 2 in Hassakeh; 2 in Raqqa; and 1 in Deir Ezzor.

See our note about the casualty figures posted by the LCC.

1841 GMT: Opposition Condemns Damascus Bombing. Hassan Hassan reports:

The National Coalition will formally condemn the suicide bomb on Al Iman mosque, debating whether it should be general or specific.

— Hassan Hassan حسن (@hhassan140) March 21, 2013

1835 GMT: Video from Iman Mosque. State TV has broadcast images of the bombing at Iman mosque in Mazraa, Damascus (see update 1810). The images are very graphic.

[Graphic] Al-Ikhbariya TV footage from the Al-Iman mosque attack this afternoon youtu.be/48H0QtJe0bI #Syria #Damascus #Assad

— Charles Lister (@Charles_Lister) March 21, 2013

1825 GMT: Cluster Bombs in Al Raqqah. Sometimes a video is worth 1000 words - residents in Al Raqqah, recently captured by the rebels, have collected some of the remnants of cluster bombs that have been dropped on the city. It's likely that the vast majority of these bomblets are either buried in rubble or destroyed beyond all recognition, so this gives us a sense of the scale of Assad's bombing campaign:

1810 GMT: "Suicide" Bombing in Damascus. A massive explosion has ripped through the Mazraa district of Damascus. The LCC has this report:

20 Martyrs and several others wounded in Mazraa neighborhood upon the explosion of a bombed car targeted Iman mosque. it is worth mentioning that the whole area was under the full control of the regime forces with much military reinforcement.

But it is Syrian State Media that adds a key detail - the bombing hit the Iman mosque (map), and appears to have killed a top Assad supporter, Dr Mohammed Saeed Ramadan al-Bouti:

"Senior cleric Dr Mohammed Saeed Ramadan al-Bouti was martyred in a terrorist suicide attack at the Iman Mosque in Mazraa in Damascus," the station said, adding that there were reports of more dead and wounded.

Residents contacted in the area said they believed the explosion may have been caused by a mortar bomb which exploded near a political party office.

It's unclear at this time whether this was the result of a mortar or a car bomb.

1414 GMT: Russia Backtracks on Chemical Weapons. After initially coming out swinging against the opposition, Russia now says it is not clear what happened two days ago with regards to chemical weapons attacks:

But Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov, Russia's pointman on the Middle East, said there was no clear evidence proving the use of weapons of mass destruction.

"The story concerning the use of chemical weapons in Syria must be meticulously investigated," Gatilov wrote on his Twitter account.

"For now, there is no unequivocal evidence about this."

1405 GMT: Horror in Homs. Airstrikes have killed at least 9 people, maybe many more, in Talbiseh, north of Homs (map). The LCC posts this video showing the moment an airplane drops a bomb on the city (a second video also shows the moment of the bombing):

An intense video shows the bombs actually falling from the sky and impacting on the ground:

A second bombing:

Reportedly taken moments after the strike. Viewer discretion is advised:

An activist has collected more than 20 videos of today's airstrikes and their victims. According to @SamerSniper, atleast 9 were killed and dozens injured in 5 different airstrikes in the city. This matches other reports.

1340 GMT: Rebels Close to Taking Adra? Adra, east of Damascus (map), has long been a regime symbol of power. Among other things, the town has always had a strong presence of Assad's elite Republican Guard, as well as a prison for political dissidents. Now, it is one of the few Assad bases that deep into the eastern suburbs.

But it may be close to falling to the rebels.

Today, the LCC posts this video of fighting outside the walls of the base of the 39th Brigade:

Other videos show the city rocked by airstrikes and shelling. This video appears to show the result of an airstrike:

1330 GMT: UN to Investigate Chemical Weapons Claims. This just in...

#UNSG tells media he will conduct#Syria chemical weapons investigation. twitter.com/UN_Spokesperso…

— UN Spokesperson (@UN_Spokesperson) March 21, 2013

1324 GMT: Dissent Among Opposition Leadership. Suhair Atassi, a member of the National Coalition, is rejoining the Syrian leadership group just one day after freezing her membership:

Atassi's decision to freeze her membership in the coalition came shortly after the body elected Ghassan Hitto to serve as Syria's first opposition premier, tasking him with forming an interim government.

Hitto's election, and the move to form a government, were opposed by some Coalition members, around 10 of whom joined Atassi in announcing they were suspending their membership.

But Atassi backs the forming of an interim government and emphasised on her Facebook page on Thursday that she continued to support the process "as an institutional way of serving the revolution."

Those who walked out were frustrated that the National Coalition decided to elect their leader as opposed to selecting a leader unanimously. However, Premeir Ghassan Hitto did win the vote by a margin of 35-14.

Atassi, a female secular activist, is widely seen as an important voice in the Coalition, and is the Deputy of the NC. Kamal Labwani was also one of the members who walked out. Labwani was a prisoner of conscience until November of 2011, and is founder of the Syrian Liberal Democratic Union. Other members who walked out include Marwan Hajj Rifai, Yehia al-Kurdi, and Ahmad al-Assi Jarba.

The AP's Ben Hubbard provides this summary of Hitto's election:

Hitto did not receive a resounding mandate from the coalition, of which he is not a member. Of the group's 63 active members, only 48 voted. Four cast blank ballots and Hitto received 35 of the remaining votes.

Hitto was born in Damascus, the Syrian capital, in 1963, according to his official resume provided by the coalition. Little known in Syria, Hitto has lived in the United States for more than two decades, most recently in Texas. He has academic degrees from Purdue University in Indiana and Indiana Wesleyan University.

He worked for a number of different technology companies and helped run a Muslim private school called the Brighter Horizons Academy. He is also a founding member of the Muslim Legal Fund of America, which was founded to give legal aid to Muslims following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

1258 GMT: UK to Send Chemical Weapons Kits to Rebels. The UK military is planning to send equipment to allow rebels to detect and identify chemical weapons, as well as protective gear to shield them from the harmful effects of any chemicals found in the field. The Telegraph reports:

British officials see the provision of chemical weapons suits, equipment that monitors the air and analysis sets as a key need for the opposition, officials said. Alongside body armour and armoured vehicles, the suits will be part of the first shipment sent within weeks via Turkey to the front line.

“Protective equipment in the MoD stores is very effective for activists engaged against the regime on the ground and if it is known that kits are deployed we judge it less likely that the regime would use it,” said an official involved in the planning. “But if there are chemicals used it will allow the rebels to detect it accurately and the world to react.”

1246 GMT: Death Toll. According to the Local Coordination Committees, an activist network, 37 people have been killed so far across the nation:

13 martyrs were reported in Homs, 6 martyrs in Damascus and its suburbs; 6 in Daraa; 4 in Aleppo;3 in Idlib; 3 in Hama; 1 in Raqqa and 1 martyr in Hasakeh.

See our note about the casualty figures posted by the LCC.

James Miller takes over today's live coverage. Thanks to Scott Lucas for carrying us through the morning.

1140 GMT: Insurgent Claims. An insurgent spokesman and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights have claimed advances by oppsition fighters near the Golan Heights.

"We have been attacking government positions as the army has been shelling civilians, and plan to take more towns," said Abu Essam Taseel of the Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade.

The Observatory said insurgents had captured Khan Arnabeh, which sits on the Israeli-Syrian disengagement line and straddles a main road leading into Israeli-held territory. They also claimed Mashati al-Khadar and Seritan Lahawan near the cease-fire line.

0624 GMT: Casualties. The Local Coordination Committees claim 140 people were killed on Wednesday, including 57 in Damascus and its suburbs and 42 in Aleppo Province.

The Violations Documentation Center records 53,481 deaths since the start of the conflict in March 2011, an increase of 158 from Wednesday.

0604 GMT: Chemical Weapons. There was no clarity yesterday over Tuesday's attacks, with the regime and oppositions each accusing the other --- but offering no proof --- of chemical warfare. The analysis posted yesterday morning by EA's James Miller remains the best assessment of possibilities.

Meanwhile, the discussion moves to the politics around the attacks, in a town near Aleppo and an area near Damascus, and what might come next.

Both sides called for an international investigation, The regime said it wanted the United Nations to "form a specialised, independent and neutral technical mission" to establish the opposition's responsibilty for the attack on Khan al-Assal, west of Aleppo, with State media say killed 26 people.

The opposition, claiming that the deaths were the result of regime fire, also called for an enquiry.

The rhetoric is unlikely to lead to any substantial move, however. The UN said the Syrian Government had made no formal request for the investigation.

Instead, the emerging question was whether the incidents would prompt a reaction such as an accelerated foreign intervention. Speaking at a press conference in Israel, US President Barack Obama moved cautiously.

Obama said the US is establishing "whether or not this 'red line' has been crossed", while implying regime responsibility if chemical weapons were involved. He asserted that the international community "has to act" if the weapons are used.

However, the President was careful not to commit to any measures, only emphasising the existig line of political support for the opposition, provision of humanitarian aid, and isolation of the Assad regime.