In an offensive against regime opponents in Idlib, the Syrian army could have used chemical weapons, according to the US State Department. Russia accuses militias. Syrian activists see no evidence of renewed attack.
According to the information provided by the US State Department, evidence of a possible use of chemical weapons by the Syrian leadership a few days ago. There are signs that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces used chemical weapons in an attack last Sunday in the northwest of the country.
„We still gather information about this incident, but we reiterate our warning that if the Assad regime uses chemical weapons, the United States and its allies will respond swiftly and appropriately,“ US State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said.
Russia accuses militias
The Russian military, on the other hand, accused militias of being responsible for an attack on the Syrian government in northwestern Syria. Prisoners in charge of Al Qaeda’s terrorist militia reported on the plan to fabricate chemical weapons attacks and hold the Syrian government responsible, according to Russia’s Maj. Gen. Victor Kuptschischin.
Ortagus accused Russia – Assad’s main ally – of launching a „disinformation campaign“. The Syrian leadership and Russia would falsely accuse other groups of using chemical weapons. It is „undeniable“ that „the Assad regime is to blame for terrible chemical weapons attacks“.
Syrian activists have no clues
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claims to have no evidence of a new chemical weapons attack by government forces. The head of the observatory, Rami Abdul Rahman, said independent confirmation of the incident was almost impossible, as only jihadists in the region were at the time of the alleged attack. There were no civilians in the area. A spokesman for the Syrian rescuers White Helmets said there was no confirmation of a new poison gas attack.
The health department in Idlib province again said a hospital on Sunday treated four people exposed to poison gas on the front line. The medical staff had perceived a smell that resembled chlorine gas.
Repeated reports on chemical weapons operations
In Syria, there are repeated reports of alleged poison gas attacks, which often kill civilians. At the beginning of last year, a report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights listed 34 such attacks in the Syria war, which were clearly provable. The UN institution also blamed the Assad government for most of the attacks. Assad’s leadership regularly rejects such allegations. Since a 2013 agreement, Damascus no longer has chemical weapons.
US President Donald Trump and his government have threatened Assad several times in the past with severe consequences for the use of chemical weapons.
Obama warned with „red line“
Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama had warned Syria’s government in 2012 about the use of poison gas. In that case, he said, the „red line“ would have been exceeded – in other words, America would have no alternative but to intervene militarily. But when Assad had poison gas put on, Obama stepped away from his ultimate threat. Instead, he embarked on a compromise with Russian President Vladimir Putin to bring the Syrian supplies of poison gas out of the country and render it harmless.
