'The Syrian regime hit us with chemical weapons: only now can we speak out'

Syrian airforce helicopters dropped two cylinders of chlorine gas onto the town of Douma on 7 April 2018. At least 43 people choked to death. For six years, afraid of reprisals, the town has grieved in silence for loved ones lost to chemical attacks and countless others killed by conventional weapons. But after an astonishing and rapid offensive by rebel forces led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), more than 50 years of Assad family rule collapsed last week, and the residents of Douma are finally free to tell their stories. The Guardian’s Bethan McKernan travelled to the town to listen to them Middle East crisis - live updates US urges Syrian rebels to form ‘inclusive’ government American found in Damascus appears to have been released from Syrian prison