Rebels have left behind a labyrinth of tunnels under Eastern Ghouta, fitted with hospitals and military headquarters, and some of them wide enough to drive a car through.

A Syrian army official who escorted journalists on a visit on Monday described them as “a real spider’s web”.

SANA said the military found two underground field hospitals, equipped with medical equipment and medicine.

https:// www.24matins.uk/topnews/headline/syria-regime-prepares-evacuation-eyes-ghouta-reconquest-63281

Many people will be familiar with Assad’s previous uses of poison gas, specifically the most famous use of sarin in East Ghouta in August 2013, an attack which killed as many as 1,429 civilians.

https:// medium.com/thenewarab/normalising-assads-chemical-weapon-savagery-73edbc7e2b13

Pressure on the White House to arm Syrian rebel groups is intensifying after a surprise visit by hawkish US senator John McCain and fresh reports of chemical weapons attacks.

The Republican war veteran met rebel leaders inside Syria to discuss their calls for heavy weapons and a no-fly zone to help them topple President Bashar al-Assad and bring the bitter civil war to a conclusion.

McCain's office confirmed to the Guardian that he had slipped into the country in recent days but declined to comment on the outcome of his talks with the rebel groups or whether it had hardened his views on arming them.

https:// www.theguardian.com/world/2013/may/27/john-mccain-rebel-leaders-syria