BEIRUT, LEBANON (00:11 A.M.) – The rebel group Failaq Al-Rahman of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) accused the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) of carrying out an attack with chlorine gas in Ayn Tarma, Damascus on Friday. They voiced their claim only four days after the US White House released a statement, warning that a chemical attack was imminent and vowing to make the Syrian government “pay a heavy price” if another such incident was to take place.
The last time allegations of a chemical attack by the SAA were voiced mainly via various social media accounts of the Syrian opposition, the U.S. President Donald Trump took them as a reason, to bomb the Shayrat airbase used by the Syrian Airforce and Russian troops alike with 59 Tomahawk missiles.
The allegations seem questionable since the U.N. announced in June 2014 that the Syrian government had voluntarily destroyed all chemical weapons and in their possession and all means for their production within the framework of an agreement with the U.N..
While the Syrian conflict in 2017 has already seen multiple bombings carried out by US forces against the SAA and its allies, especially in Syria’s south-east around the Al-Tanf border crossing held by FSA forces supported by embedded US troops, any such allegations are alarming. The US are infamous for using allegations of attacks labeled inhumane and possession of chemical weapons as a pretense to invade nations, as they did for example already twice with neighbouring Iraq.
745 1 - 746Shares
Be Civil
This is a Civilized Place for Public Discussion
Please treat this discussion with the same respect you would a public park. We, too, are a shared community resource — a place to share skills, knowledge and interests through ongoing conversation.
These are not hard and fast rules, merely guidelines to aid the human judgment of our community and keep this a clean and well-lighted place for civilized public discourse.
Make it better
Improve the Discussion
Help us make this a great place for discussion by always working to improve the discussion in some way, however small. If you are not sure your post adds to the conversation, think over what you want to say and try again later.
The topics discussed here matter to us, and we want you to act as if they matter to you, too. Be respectful of the topics and the people discussing them, even if you disagree with some of what is being said.
Now the hard part!
Be Agreeable, Even When You Disagree
You may wish to respond to something by disagreeing with it. That’s fine. But remember to criticize ideas, not people. Please avoid:
Instead, provide reasoned counter-arguments that improve the conversation.