WHO: 500 Douma patients with poison symptoms

geneva - An estimated five hundred victims of a suspected poison gas attack in Syria are in hospitals with 'signs and symptoms of exposure to toxic chemicals'. This says the World Health Organization (WHO), which condemned the reported attack with chemical weapons in the Syrian Douma last weekend.

'The WHO requires immediate unhindered access to the area to provide care for the affected, to assess the health effects and to provide a comprehensive response,' said Peter Salama, deputy director general of the WHO for emergency situations.

Aid agencies of the United Nations do not have access to the largest part of the East-Ghouta enclave, including Douma, where the alleged attack took place. The Syrian government has denied responsibility.