US accuses Assad and Russia of staging chemical weapons attack in Aleppo
The US administration has accused the Syrian regime of President Bashar Al Assad of carrying out a tear gas attack against civilians in Aleppo last month, which Syria and Russia had said was a chlorine attack by opposition forces.
After days of deliberation between the White House and the state department, the US released its statement on Friday.
It said that on “November 24, 2018, the Assad regime and Russia falsely accused the opposition and extremist groups of conducting a chlorine attack in north-west Aleppo”.
“The United States strongly refutes this narrative and has credible information that pro-regime forces likely used tear gas against civilians in Aleppo on November 24,” it said.
After their accusations against the opposition, Syria and Russia launched air strikes on targets in opposition-held Idlib in retaliation.
But the US said it had information indicating Russia and Syria were involved in the tear gas incident, and believed both countries were using it to undermine confidence in the ceasefire in Idlib.
It also warned Russia and the regime against tampering with the suspected attack site, and urged them to secure the safety of impartial, independent inspectors so that those responsible could be held accountable.
The US special representative for Syria, James Jeffrey, is visiting Jordan and Turkey as tension between Moscow and Washington worsens over issues including Syria and Ukraine.
Before the visit, Mr Jeffrey accused Russia of “playing a dangerous game accusing us of playing a dangerous game” in Syria, and lamented its failure to make progress on a committee to write a new constitution.
The US also expressed concern that the Syrian government was trying to manipulate evidence of the attack as investigators tried to access the site.
“Pro-regime officials have maintained control of the attack site in its immediate aftermath, allowing them to potentially fabricate samples and contaminate the site before a proper investigation of it by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons,” the US said.
Britain also cast aspersions over the regime’s accusations about the attack in north-west Aleppo.
“The UK assesses it highly unlikely that chlorine was used in this incident as the regime and its Russian allies have claimed,” it said. “It is highly unlikely that the opposition was responsible.
“It is likely that this was either a staged incident intended to frame the opposition, or an operation that went wrong and from which Russia and the regime sought to take advantage.
“We frequently see the Syrian regime and its partners making false claims and using disinformation to cover their tracks. Allegations that the UK or its allies are involved in this, or any other incident involving chemical weapons in Syria, are complete fabrications.”
The chemical weapons watchdog held a meeting on Tuesday.
Washington has been seeking European and regional support for its position to dispute the Russian and Syrian government’s version of events.
Russia’s embassy in Washington hit back on Facebook. “The Russian Defence Ministry does not rule out that the US department of state’s allegations about the recent toxic chemicals attack in Syria’s Aleppo are aimed at distracting public attention from the crimes of the US aviation in the east of the Middle East country,” it said.
The US also warned Russia and the regime against tampering with the suspected attack site