US official vows Russia & Iran ‘are responsible’ if Assad launches chemical weapons attack

US ambassador Nikki Haley says Russia and Iran will also be blamed for the chemical weapons attack

EXPRESS, Jun 27, 2017 - THE US  ambassador to the United Nations has declared that any chemical weapons attack by Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian government on his own citizens will also be blamed on the Russia and Iran.

Nikki Haley said on Twitter: 'Any further attacks done to the people of Syria will be blamed on Assad, but also on Russia and Iran who support him killing his own people.'
Her comments came as the White House revealed it had identified potential preparations by Assad’s regime for another chemical weapons attack on its people.
The US military believes the preparations are similar to those made before the April 4 chemical weapons attack in Syria – a claim Assad’s government has repeatedly denied.
The attack – which killed at least 87 people, including 30 children – escalated tensions between Washington and Russia, which has advisers in Syria aiding its close ally Assad.

Horrific images depict sickening chemical gas attack in Syria

On Tue, April 4, 2017 at least 58 people, including nine children, were killed in an air raid that released 'toxic gas' on the rebel-held Syrian town of Khan Sheikhoun

 

 A child receiving treatment at a field hospital after an alleged chemical attack in Idlib, northen Syria

The White House statement said: “The United States has identified potential preparations for another chemical weapons attack by the Assad regime that would likely result in the mass murder of civilians, including children.
“As we have previously stated, the United States is in Syria to eliminate the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria [ISIS].
“If, however, Mr Assad conducts another mass murder attack using chemical weapons, he and his military will pay a heavy price.”

 

Trump ordered a massive military strike against a Syria

Donald Trump blamed Assad for the chemical weapons attack which killed at least 87 people, including 30 children, in the Syria’s northern Idlib province in April.
And in retaliation, the American President launched 59 Tomahawk missiles on a Syrian air base – which according to the US Department of Defence destroyed 20 per cent of the nation’s operational aircraft.
It follows comments by Brigadier-General Zaher al-Sakat – who served as head of chemical warfare in Syria’s powerful 5th Division until he defected in 2013 – that Assad has hidden hundreds of tonnes of the nation's chemical arsenal despite the leader saying he had given over their entire supply to the United Nations.
In 2014, Syria was believed to have handed its entire chemical arsenal to the UN’s Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) after they were criticized for its involvement in sarin gas attack that killed hundreds of people in September 2013.
But according to the former Assad general, the Syrian leader failed to declare large amounts of sarin precursor chemicals and other toxic materials.
Gen. Sakat told the Telegraph: “They [the regime] admitted only to 1,300 tonnes, but we knew in reality they had nearly double that. They had at least 2,000 tonnes. At least.”

US says Assad may be preparing chemical attack, warns 'heavy price'

A rebel tries on a gas mask seized from a Syrian army factory in the north-western province of Idlib

AFP, 26 June 2017--  Syrian President Bashar al-Assad may be preparing another chemical weapons attack, one that would result in the 'mass murder' of civilians, the White House said on Monday, warning the regime would pay a 'heavy price' if it went ahead with such an assault.

The White House said the preparations were similar to those undertaken by the Assad regime ahead of an apparent chemical attack on a rebel-held town in April.

Washington launched a retaliatory cruise missile strike days later against a Syrian airbase from where it said the chemical weapons attack was launched.

That assault with 59 Tomahawk missiles marked the first direct US attack on the Syrian regime and Trump's most dramatic military action since he took power in January.

It also led to a quick downward spiral in ties between Washington and Moscow, which accused the US of breaking international law.

 

 Residents of Khan Sheikhun hold placards and pictures on April 7, 2017, during a protest condemning a suspected chemical weapons attack on their town that killed at least 86 people, among them 30 children

Washington launched a retaliatory cruise missile strike days later against a Syrian airbase from where it said the chemical weapons attack was launched.

That assault with 59 Tomahawk missiles marked the first direct US attack on the Syrian regime and Trump's most dramatic military action since he took power in January.

It also led to a quick downward spiral in ties between Washington and Moscow, which accused the US of breaking international law.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, backed by his ally Russia, has strongly denied the allegation that his forces used chemical weapons against the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhun
Russia has supported the Syrian regime since 2015 with air strikes against what it says are Islamist extremists.

'The United States has identified potential preparations for another chemical weapons attack by the Assad regime that would likely result in the mass murder of civilians, including innocent children,' spokesman Sean Spicer said in a statement Monday night.

The two-paragraph communique did not offer any evidence justifying the sternly worded warning.

'The activities are similar to preparations the regime made before its April 4, 2017 chemical weapons attack.'

The suspected attack in April in the rebel held town of Khan Sheikhun killed at least 87 people, including many children, and images of the dead and of suffering victims provoked global outrage. The US State Department said it amounted to a war crime.

State Department officials who would normally be involved in a big announcement such as Monday's warning to Syria said they were caught by surprise, the Los Angeles Times reported.

- 'No doubt' -

Assad, backed by Russia, has strongly denied the allegation that his forces used chemical weapons against the town in April, describing it as a '100 percent fabrication'.

He has said repeatedly that his forces turned over all chemical weapons stockpiles in 2013, under a deal brokered by Russia to avoid threatened US military action.

The agreement was later enshrined in a United Nations Security Council resolution.

But US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis previously warned that there was 'no doubt' that Syria had in fact retained some chemical weapons. An Israeli military assessment also found that Assad's regime was still in possession of 'a few tonnes' of chemical weapons.

'As we have previously stated, the United States is in Syria to eliminate the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria,' Spicer added in his statement Monday.

'If, however, Mr Assad conducts another mass murder attack using chemical weapons, he and his military will pay a heavy price.'

Syria's war began in March 20 11 with anti-government protests that spiralled into a complex and devastating conflict that has killed more than 320,000 people.

Russia is flying a bombing campaign in Syria in support of Assad, while the US is heading a coalition mainly targeting IS.

Neither Washington nor Moscow have managed to find a solution to the conflict.

Rebels are now on the back foot after regime advances with support from allies Russia and Iran.

The US-led coalition and allied fighters are battling to oust the IS group from its Syrian bastion Raqa.

The coalition is also backing a major assault on the last IS-held pockets of Mosul in neighboring Iraq.