WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - At least 70 people have died in a suspected chemical attack in Douma, the last rebel-held town in Syria's Eastern Ghouta, media reports said.
Syria's government reportedly has called the allegations of a chemical attack a 'fabrication'.
The US state department said reports suggested 'a potentially high number of casualties', including families in shelters.
It said Russia - with its 'unwavering support' for Syria's government - 'ultimately bears responsibility' for the alleged attacks.
The US state department noted that the Assad regime and its backers must be held accountable and any further attacks prevented immediately. Russia, with its unwavering support for the regime, ultimately bears responsibility for these brutal attacks, targeting of countless civilians, and the suffocation of Syria's most vulnerable communities with chemical weapons. By shielding its ally Syria, Russia has breached its commitments to the United Nations as a framework guarantor. It has betrayed the Chemical Weapons Convention and UN Security Council Resolution 2118. Russia's protection of the Assad regime and failure to stop the use of chemical weapons in Syria calls into question its commitment to resolving the overall crisis and to larger non-proliferation priorities.
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