Medecins Sans Frontieres
says hospitals it supports in Syria treated about 3,600 patients with
"neurotoxic symptoms", of whom 355 have died.
It said
the patients had arrived in three hospitals in the Damascus governorate
on 21 August - when opposition activists say chemical attacks were
launched against rebels.
But MSF says it cannot "scientifically confirm" the use of chemical weapons.
Both sides in the conflict accuse each other of using chemical weapons.
MSF says staff at the hospitals described a large number of
patients arriving in the space of less than three hours with symptoms
including convulsions, extreme salivation, contracted pupils and sight
and respiratory problems.
The charity said many were treated with atropine, a drug administered to those with "neurotoxic symptoms".
"MSF can neither scientifically confirm the cause of these
symptoms nor establish who is responsible for the attack," said MSF
Director of Operations Bart Janssens.
"However, the reported symptoms of the patients, in addition
to the epidemiological pattern of the events, characterised by the
massive influx of patients in a short period of time, the origin of the
patients, and the contamination of medical and first aid workers,
strongly indicate mass exposure to a neurotoxic agent.
"This would constitute a violation of international
humanitarian law, which absolutely prohibits the use of chemical and
biological weapons."
MSF's disclosure came hours after the UN disarmament chief
Angela Kane arrived in Damascus to press the Syrian government to allow
access to the site of the alleged chemical weapons attack.
France has joined the UK in accusing Bashar al-Assad's
forces of carrying out the attack in the capital's eastern suburbs on
Wednesday.
US President Obama has said he is weighing his options and described it as a "big event of grave concern".
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