Syrian rebels have accused Syrian government forces of using napalm during air raids in the Damascus suburb of Darayya this week. And while it's hardly the first time a Syrian group has been accused of chemical weapons, this is only the second time napalm has been specifically named in the conflict.
Videos rolled out on social media purporting to show the aftermath of the alleged attacks. In them, you see plumes of dark smoke rise from rubble as local civil defence workers shoot off water cannons to quell bright orange flames. The footage was coupled with photos of defence workers holding clear globs of gel in tweezers.
Napalm became a household name during the Vietnam War, when US troops used explosives with the chemical agent during air raids. A gelling agent that sticks to the skin when lit ablaze, it can be mixed with a fuel like petroleum to produce a fire than burns at more than 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
While the chemical hasn't been specifically banned from use on military targets, the UN outlawed its use on civilian populations in 1980.
No one has verified the videos or the chemical in Darayya, but in a conflict that’s only getting deeper, this latest accusation means things are only getting worse for civilians across Syria.
See the civil defence’s videos below.
