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Conflict in Syria

Source warns about possible chemical provocations in Syria

Jabhat al-Nusra and affiliated units of the Free Syrian Army have pulled more than 12,000 militants to stage an offensive on government troops, the source said

© EPA-EFE/Mohammed Badra

MOSCOW, April 19. /TASS/. Further provocations with improvised chemical weapons are not excluded in Syria to justify a possible Jabhat al-Nusra-led offensive on government troops in southern Syria, a military diplomatic source said on Thursday.

According to the source, Jabhat al-Nusra alone and affiliated units of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) have pulled more than 12,000 militants and hundreds of hardware pieces to stage an offensive on government troops’ positions. The offensive will follow allegations that government troops violate the ceasefire.

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"To stage an offensive on government troops’ positions, Jabhat al-Nusra alone and affiliated units of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) have pulled more than 12,000 militants and hundreds of hardware pieces, dozens of multiple missile launcher systems they received via corridors controlled by illegal armed groups along the border with Israel and Jordan," the source said, adding that the offensive would be grounded by militants’ statements about alleged ceasefire violations of the Syrian army.

"To magnify the effect, it is not ruled out than more provocations with the alleged use of improvised chemical weapons against civilians will follow," the source said.

According to the source, the ultimate goal of the operation is to establish an autonomous territorial entity with a capital city in Daraa as is in the case of territories controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces in the northeast of Syria.

The source noted that the situation in southern Syria had dramatically deteriorated in the recent weeks and, despite the United States’ statements, "key roles" in the Yarmouk valley are played not only by the Free Syrian Army but also by Jabhat al-Nusra and Islamic State (a terrorist organization outlawed in Russia) groups.

"Truck convoys with alleged humanitarian cargoes regularly reach this area across the Jordanian border. But no one knows what kind of cargoes are actually delivered. All deliveries of the so-called humanitarian assistance are controlled only by the Americans," he said.

In his words, US and Jordanian officers from the monitoring center in Amman regularly report militants’ attacks on government forces in these areas. "But no measures are being taken to stabilize the situation and exterminate terrorists," he added.

Earlier, the so-called White Helmets and other non-government organizations alleged that Syrian government troops had dropped a chlorine bomb on civilians in the city of Douma in Eastern Ghouta. These allegations were used by the United States, France and the United Kingdom as a pretext to deliver a massive airstrike on Syria on April 14. As many as 103 cruise missiles were fired at military and civilian targets, including in a Damascus suburb.

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