A Syrian family recounts the horrors of the 2013 chemical attack near Damascus
A Syrian family that survived a 2013 chemical weapons attack that killed hundreds of people near the country's capital, Damascus, says the ordeal they experienced haunts them to this day
By BASSEM MROUE
Published - Dec 26, 2024, 01:27 AM ET
Last Updated - Dec 26, 2024, 01:27 AM EST
ZAMALKA, Syria (AP) — A Syrian family that survived a 2013 chemical weapons attack that killed hundreds of people near the country’s capital, Damascus, says the ordeal they experienced haunts them to this day.
The Aug. 21, 2013 attack targeted several Damascus suburbs, including Zamalka, where the Arbeeni family lives. Government forces of then-President Bashar Assad were blamed for the attack.
The Arbeenis remember how they locked themselves inside a windowless room in their home for hours, escaping the fate of dozens of their neighbors who perished in what was one of the deadliest moments of Syria’s civil war.
The gas that was used — sarin, an extremely toxic nerve agent — can kill in minutes.
