New Zealand condemns Syrian chemical attack

Foreign Minister Murray McCully has condemned the chemical attack in Syria which is believed to have killed at least 70 people, including 10 children.

The chemical weapons attack in an opposition-held northern Syrian town has left residents breathless and convulsing in crowded streets and hospitals.

“I was dismayed to learn of another attack in an area where chemical weapons had already been used,” McCully said.

“We join others in calling for a thorough investigation into these atrocities and for the perpetrators to be held accountable.”

CNN reports that airstrikes hit the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikho on Wednesday.

The Syrian army has denied using chemical weapons and said rebels were responsible.

Photos: Getty

The Trump administration blamed the Syrian government for the attack, one of the deadliest in years, and said Syria's bosses Russia and Iran bore “great moral responsibility” for the deaths. .

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 58 people died, including 11 children, in the early morning attack in the town of Khan Sheikhoun, which witnesses said was carried out by Sukhoi aircraft operated by the Russian and Syrian governments.

Videos from the scene showed volunteer medics using fire hoses to wash chemicals from victims' bodies. The haunting images of lifeless children huddled together reflect the scale of the attack, which is reminiscent of a 2013 chemical attack that left hundreds dead and was the worst in six years of ruinous civil war that the country has experienced.

Tuesday's attack was swiftly condemned by world leaders, including President Donald Trump, who denounced it as a “heinous” act that “cannot be ignored by the civilized world.” The UN Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting on Wednesday in response to the strike, which came on the eve of a major international donor conference in Brussels on the future of Syria and the region. .

In a statement, Trump also blamed former President Barack Obama for “weakness” in not responding aggressively after the 2013 attack.

“These heinous actions of the Bashar al-Assad regime are a consequence of the weakness and irresolution of the previous administration,” Trump said.

“President Obama said in 2012 that he would establish a 'red line' against the use of chemical weapons, but he did nothing. The United States stands with our allies around the world in condemning this intolerable attack.”

Photos and videos from Khan Cheikhoun, located south of the provincial capital of Idlib, showed the limp bodies of children and adults. Some had difficulty breathing; others seemed to be foaming at the mouth.

The activist-run Assi Press newspaper published a video showing paramedics transporting victims, stripped to their underwear and many appearing unconscious, from the scene in vans.

It was not immediately clear whether all those killed died of suffocation or were hit by other airstrikes that occurred in the area around the same time.

This is the third chemical attack in just over a week in Syria. The previous two were reported in Hama province, in an area not far from Khan Cheikhoun.

– With AAP/NZN