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RUSSIA-SYRIA-POLITICS-CHEMICAL
Russia accuses Syrian rebels of preparing Idlib chemical attack
MOSCOW, Aug 25, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Russia on Saturday said Syrian rebels are
preparing a chemical attack in Idlib province which will be blamed on
Damascus and used as a pretext for Western powers to hit government targets
in the war-torn country.
Moscow’s accusation comes after US President Donald Trump’s national
security adviser John Bolton this week said Washington will respond “very
strongly” if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad uses chemical weapons in an
offensive to retake Idlib, one of the last rebel held provinces in the
country.
Russian defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a statement
that the jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is “preparing another
provocation of the ‘use of chemical weapons’ by Syrian government forces
against the peaceful population of the Idlib province.”
He said the group delivered “eight chlorine tanks” to Jisr al-Shughur town
in order to “stage” the attack and that these were later taken to a village
eight kilometres (5 miles) away.
The statement also said a group of militants “trained in handling
poisonous substances under the supervision of specialists from the private
British military company ‘Oliva'” arrived in the town a day earlier.
“The militants have the task of simulating the rescue of the victims of
the chemical weapons attack dressed in the clothes of the famous ‘White
Helmets’,” it said.
Konashenkov accused British special services of being “actively involved”
in the “provocation” which will “serve as another reason for the US, the UK
and France to hit Syrian government targets with air strikes.”
In April, the US, France and Britain launched joint missile strikes on
Syrian targets in response to an alleged chemical weapons attack in the town
of Douma that left scores dead. Russian stuck by its ally Syria and angrily
insisted the Douma attack was staged by the White Helmets volunteer rescue
service.
In Jerusalem on Wednesday, Bolton said Washington was “concerned about the
possibility that Assad may use chemical weapons again.”
“Just so there’s no confusion here, if the Syrian regime uses chemical
weapons we will respond very strongly and they really ought to think about
this a long time,” Bolton said.
Speculation is increasing that there could be a Russian-backed government
assault on Idlib, one of the so-called “de-escalation” zones set up as a
result of talks by Russia, Turkey and Iran last year.
On a visit to Moscow on Friday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu
warned Russia that seeking a military solution in Idlib would be a
“catastrophe” before meeting President Vladimir Putin.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the situation in Idlib is
“multi-faceted” and called for separating out “the healthy opposition from
terrorist structures.”
Damascus still holds the southeastern tip of Idlib, a strategically
important province adjacent to Latakia on the Mediterranean coast that is
home to Assad’s clan.
More than 350,000 people have been killed and millions displaced since
Syria’s war started in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government
protests.
BSS/AFP/MSY/1521 hrs