The United States and Britain accused Russia on Friday of fabricating a story about chemical weapons use by Syrian rebels and warned Moscow against undermining a shaky truce. Russia responded to the purported attack with air raids on Idlib, the latest major stronghold of rebels and jihadists battling President Bashar al-Assad, throwing into question a truce reached in mid-September. A sarin gas attack in April 2017 in the town of Khan Sheikhun killed 83 people, according to the UN. Russia, the top international backer of Assad, and the Syrian government both denied the incident, saying footage of suffering victims including children was staged. In the latest incident, a US official said that suspicions were raised as Russia and Syria immediately put out similar official media accounts and quickly carried out strikes.

Source: Egypt Independent December 07, 2018 22:07 UTC