Horrifying images of badly burned children in Syria have been doing the rounds on social media - amid claims that Turkey is using banned chemical weapons against the Kurds.
Footage taken at a hospital in Tal Tamr, near the border city of Ras al Ain, shows a boy with deep burns to his entire upper body.
#SaveTheKurds#Phosphour_of_Turkey_Kills_Our_people
— Sherin Bege (@BegeSherin) October 17, 2019
Erdogan even the hail will not eccept you..InshaAllah your end will be soon and in a bad way.
Oh my dear your suffering hurting us 😔😭 pic.twitter.com/XIgzUuIGjz
Kurdish authorities in northeastern Syria on Thursday accused Turkey of resorting to banned weapons such as napalm and white phosphorus munitions.
The video was released by Kurdish media along with photos of boys in another hospital in al Hasakah, also close to Ras al Ain, with deep burns to their faces.
A Kurdish boy screaming from pain. (Image courtesy: Social media)
A doctor, speaking to Kurdish outlets, said the burns appeared consistent with the use of napalm, which is a mixture of gelling agent and a volatile petrochemical which sticks to its target before burning, and was used extensively in the Vietnam war.
White phosphorus can be used to create a smoke screen or as a battlefield marker, but it can also be deployed as a deadly incendiary weapon, a use prohibited under international law.
All images and video were captured before a ceasefire, negotiated with Turkey by US Vice President Mike Pence, came into effect on Thursday night.
The use of such weapons since the start of the cross-border assault by Turkey and its Syrian proxies could not be confirmed independently.