The U.S. on Thursday accused Russia of helping Syria cover up its use of banned chemical weapons in its years-long civil war by working to prevent the global chemical weapons agency from finding those responsible. The U.S. representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Kenneth Ward, told the body that Moscow is responsible for helping Damascus mask the use of chlorine and sarin gasses to kill scores of civilians. “The Syrian Arab Republic possesses and uses chemical weapons,” Ward told delegates. “For many years, we have listened to the Syrian Arab Republic try to fill this room with falsehoods thinking they can cover up what is going on. Damascus and Moscow continue to maintain that bodies were brought in from elsewhere and that the OPCW report was manipulated to justify Western military intervention.

Source: The North Africa Journal November 28, 2019 20:15 UTC