AN OFFICIAL at Syria’s Foreign and Expatriates Ministry affirmed at the weekend that all shouting and untrue, fabricated news about the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian army in Kabani town in Lattakia countryside are a prelude of the western lie and hypocrisy choir to start threats against the Syrian state.
‘All that noise will not affect Syria stance in its war against terrorism.’ the official told SANA
It added that the Syrian Arab Republic stresses that it was and still is confident that what is happening now of that systemised campaign, of lies to accuse the Syrian state of using chemical weapons, is nothing but a desperate, repeated attempt, by some western states and their master, the US, to ease pressure on the crimes of terrorists in Idlib and an uncovered attempt to delay the advance of army in those regions.
‘All that noise and collective playing on this string will not affect the Syrian stance to continue its war against terrorism and liberate all its territories from it,’ the source added.
Local and media sources reported that terrorist organisations positioned in Hama northern countryside and Idlib, have undertaken, with help of experts from Belgium, France and Morocco, preparing for the use of chemical weapons against civilians to face any advance by the Syrian army and create conditions for a US-western aggression on Syria, similar to what happened in April of 2018.
Local sources in Idlib said that terrorists of ‘Jabhat al-Nusra’ held, during the last hours, a number of meetings with terrorists from ‘al-Hizb al-Turkistani, Jaish al-Ezza and the White Helmets’ who later gave orders to leaders of terrorist groups to use chlorine gas in case the army makes advances on any front in Hama, Lattakia or Idlib countryside.
The sources quoted one of the attenders as saying that the process of using the poisonous gases was commissioned to terrorists of foreign nationalities ‘Belgium, France and Morocco.’
Syrian army units on Saturday responded to the attacks and breaches of terrorist groups to the de-escalation zones agreement, inflicting them heavy losses in personnel and equipment in Hama northern and Idlib southern countryside.
A SANA reporter in Hama said that units of the army carried out concentrated operations on the movement axes of terrorist groups affiliated to Jabhat al-Nusra in al-Latamneh, Kfar Zeita and Habeet in Hama northern and Idlib southern countryside.
The reporter added that the army operations ended up with the killing and injuring of many terrorists, destroying vehicles and rocket launch-pads.
The terrorist groups continued their breaches of the de-escalation zones agreement and attacked, with rocket shells, Asqilbiyah and Ayn Kroum in Hama northern countryside.
The SANA reporter said that terrorists positioned in the north-western countryside, attacked with rocket shells the residential houses in Asqilbiyah and Ayn Kroum towns, causing material damage to the properties.
Last Friday, the Russian Ministry of Defence denied the claims that the United States is trying to promote and that terrorist groups and some media outlets affiliated to them are spreading about the use of chemical weapons in the de-escalation zone in Idlib.
The Russian Defence Ministry’s spokesman Major General Igor Konashekov said that no chemical attacks took place in the de-escalation zone in Idlib on May 19th as the US claims, stressing that all the attempts by the US State Department to fabricate another story about chemical attack are merely political cover for the terrorists’ attempts to destabilise the situation in Idlib.
He said it isn’t surprising for the US State Department to try and force another lie on the world about the use of chemical weapons in Idlib using only Jabhat al-Nusra terrorists as eyewitnesses.
Konashekov noted that these recent US narratives about the Syrian Army using chemical weapons in Idlib come at a time when even the ‘Syrian Human Rights Observatory’ and the ‘White Helmets,’ which are two organisations created by the West, are saying that there is no information about this alleged attack or its victims.
During the past years, terrorists and their masters abroad fabricated various incidents related to chemical weapons to justify foreign aggression against Syria, with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) being complicit as revealed recently by a document proving that the OPCW covered up a report by its own experts proving that the chemical incident in Douma was staged by terrorists.
Meanwhile, Syria’s permanent representative to the UN, Dr Bashar al-Jaafari said last Thursday that Syria will continue fighting terrorism and protecting citizens from its danger, adding that protecting civilians is the responsibility of the State and its sovereign institutions.
‘The Syrian people have long suffered from a terrorist war, supported and funded by known governments which sponsor the international beyond-border terrorism, but the Syrian state has been able, with the support of true allies, to keep the structure and work of its national institutions,’ al-Jaafari said at a UN Security council session on protecting civilians in armed conflicts.
He added that Syria has reservations on the description of UN Secretary General’s report, entitled ‘Protecting Civilians in Armed conflicts,’ which depicted that war against al-Qaeda, Daesh and Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist organisations as ‘armed conflict,’ affirming that protecting civilians is mainly a responsibility which is assumed by the State concerned and its sovereign institutions.
Al-Jaafari reiterated that Syria will go on, in cooperation with its allies, to practice its duty and right in protecting its citizens from the terrorist groups which comprise tens of thousands of foreign terrorists who came to Syria from more than 100 countries.
‘Syria has been able, in cooperation with the Russian government and other friends, to carry out steps that contributed to spare the blood and protect civilians as well as restoring security in addition to completing reconciliation processes which made thousands of militants throw away their weapons in return for amnesty,’ al-Jaafari said.
He added that the Syrian government has restored security and stability to regions which were seized by terrorist groups and returned civilians to their houses in addition to engaging in the political process in cooperation with the UN Special envoy for Syria in light of UNSC resolution No.2254 for 2015.
Al-Jaafari went on to say that the collective, international work within the UN faces legal and moral crisis while some countries impose coercive, unilateral economic measures on a number of states like Syria, Cuba and Iran even. They name this economic terrorism as part of pre-emptive diplomacy.
‘There are still some countries find it as no fault to defend the Israeli continued occupation of Palestine and Golan,’ Al-Jaafari concluded.
- The Syrian army has repelled attacks staged by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (also known as Jabhat al-Nusra, a terrorist organisation outlawed in Russia) militants in the south western part of the Idlib de-escalation zone in the Hama governorate, killing up to 350 terrorists and destroying six tanks and armoured infantry carriers, Major General Viktor Kupchishin, chief of the Russian Centre for Reconciliation of the Opposing Parties in Syria, said last Friday.
‘Throughout the day, government forces repelled attacks by illegal armed groups near the settlements of Kafr Nbuda and Huayz in the Hama governorate. Since May 21st, while rebuffing militants’ attacks, the Syrian government army has destroyed up to 350 terrorists, five tanks, one armoured infantry carrier, 27 pickup trucks with heavy machineguns, two “jihad cars” and three multiple missile launcher systems,’ he said.
According to Kupchishin, illegal armed groups are seeking to make up for the losses and are pulling troops, weapons and military hardware to the settlement of Kafr Nbuda. ‘Over the past two days, more than 800 militants, at least seven tanks, three armoured infantry carriers, 15 pickup trucks with heavy machineguns have been pulled to the southwestern part of the Idlib de-escalation zone. According to reconnaissance data, terrorists are planning to use from two to four cars stuffed with explosives and driven by suicide bombers to stage an offensive on the Syrian army,’ he said.
He did not rule out that illegal armed groups may stage fake attacks with the use of toxic agents to later put the blame for them on the Syrian army.
Twelve settlements in the Latakia and Hama governorates within the Idlib de-escalation zone came under shelling by militants during the day.
‘Throughout the day, officers of the Russian reconciliation centre conducted one humanitarian operation in the settlement of Deir Zainun in the Latakia governorate and handed out 500 bags with food to local residents,’ Kupchishin added.
The Russian reconciliation centre continues to fulfil assigned tasks after the completion of the military campaign in Syria. The centre’s officers regularly travel around the country’s liberated areas to assess the humanitarian situation. The main efforts of the Russian military are now focused on assistance to the refugees returning to their homes and evacuation of civilians from de-escalation zones.
