Syrian gov't slams rebels' accusation of using chemical weapons in Douma

DAMASCUS, April 7 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian government on Saturday evening slammed the rebels' allegations that the Syrian army used chemical gas in the ongoing battle on the Douma district east of Damascus.

Such claims are an attempt to hinder the advance of the Syrian army in the battles against the Islam Army, Syrian state news agency SANA cited an anonymous official source as saying.

The remarks come as activists said the Syrian forces used chlorine gas in the current attack on Douma, causing suffocation among people in Douma.

The official source said media arms of the Islam Army had fabricated the Syrian army's use of chemical weapons to frame the government forces.

The source added that the Syrian army is rapidly advancing without the need to use any kind of chemical materials, which the government has repeatedly denied possessing.

The Syrian army on Saturday said it stormed the frontlines of the Islam Army in the Douma from farmlands east of Douma amid a state of collapse and chaos among the militant group, according to SANA.

Meanwhile, the Islam Army said on its official social network site that its militants foiled the advance of the Syrian army from the farm area on the outskirts of Douma.

Local TVs are airing footages of the targeting of Douma, a day after announcing that the Syrian Republican Guard units have started operation at Douma.

The escalation of violence comes as the Islam Army backed down on its agreement to leave Douma in Eastern Ghouta toward rebel-held areas in northern Syria.

Douma was supposed to witness a similar evacuation of rebels as other areas in the Eastern Ghouta, where 43,000 rebels and their families withdrew under a deal with the government toward rebel-held areas in northern Syria.

Three batches of the Islam Army and families have withdrawn from Douma recently, but as the fourth batch was preparing to leave, the agreement in Douma, which was mediated by Russia, collapsed.

The group also didn't live up to its part of the deal in terms of releasing thousands of kidnapped people in its captivity in accordance with the deal.

The release of the kidnapped people is a main demand of the Syrian government. Instead, the Islam Army militants have presented new demands for staying in Douma.

The Islam Army mainly demanded to remain in Douma with its weapons, while the Russians demanded the rebel group to hand over heavy weapons and allow the formation of a police force in that district supervised by the Russians.

But such demands haven't been approved and intense battles have raged in Douma since Friday.

The ground and aerial offensive of the Syrian army on Douma was coupled with mortar attacks by the militants on residential neighborhoods in Damascus, killing five people and wounding 30 others on Saturday. Enditem