Syria News: Rebels Accuse Government Forces of Firing Chemical Weapons at Civilians, Claim Up To 800 Killed in Attack

Activists and rebel fighters accused the Syrian government of killing hundreds of civilians, including many women and children, in chemical weapons attacks on Wednesday.

Anti-government activists said Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime fired "rockets with poisonous gas heads" in the capital, Damascus, during the alleged attack early Wednesday morning. The number of reported deaths ranged from 100 to close to 800, although the figures have not been independently confirmed, reports USA Today.

The main opposition group, the Syrian National Coalition, accused the regime of killing more than 650 people.

"Over 650 confirmed dead result of deadly chemical weapon attack in Syria," the National Coalition wrote on Twitter.

In addition, National Coalition leader Ahmed al-Jarba called for an urgent UN Security Council meeting after the deadly attack.

"I call on the Security Council to convene urgently," al-Jarba told the Al-Arabiya news channel, condemning the Syrian army's bombardment of the suburbs of Damascus as a "massacre."

However, the Syrian government denies allegations that it used chemical weapons on its citizens and said the reports were intended to hinder the mission of UN inspectors, reports Al Jazeera.

The head of the UN chemical weapons inspectors in Syria said that reports of the gas attack should be investigated.

Swedish scientist Ake Sellstrom told news agency TT that while he had only seen TV footage, the high number of casualties reported sounded "suspicious." He urged the UN team currently in Syria to visit the site.

In Cairo, the Arab League also urged the UN inspectors to visit the site of the alleged attack immediately. Likewise, Saudi Arabia urged the UN and EU ministers to immediately address the "massacre." A French government spokesman said that France will also ask UN experts to visit the site of the alleged chemical attack in Syria.

Unrest in Syria began in March 2011 and later erupted into a civil war. Since then, over 100,000 people have been killed in the conflict.