NHK, 9 April 2018— Anti-government activists and refugees from Syria have staged protests in Turkey’s largest city of Istanbul following reports of many casualties in what appears to have been a chemical attack in eastern Ghouta, Syria.

About 100 people took part in Sunday’s protest.

A man from eastern Ghouta told NHK that he has no idea whether his relatives are dead or living after they evacuated to a basement of a building that collapsed on them. He said he also wonders if they were attacked with chemical weapons.

He said he would not be surprised to find some of his relatives or friends in photos of the dead, and that he has no words to properly express his feelings.

The man said the alleged action by the government of President Bashar al-Assad should be condemned as being cruel.

He said he believes the Assad administration’s objective is to pressure residents to leave the district. He called on the international community to take action to resolve the situation in Syria.