NOVANEWS
Syrian state media has claimed rebels are behind Tuesday’s attack, in which at least 15 people were killed, while rebels blame the Assad regime. Russia: Use of chemical weapons by opposition ‘elevates Syrian crisis to new level.’
Haaretz
Russia accused Syrian rebels of using chemical weapons in Tuesday morning’s attack attack near Aleppo, in which at least 15 people were reportedly killed, and said it was an extremely alarming and dangerous development.
“A case of the use of chemical weapons by the armed opposition was recorded early in the morning of March 19 in Aleppo province,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said after President Bashar al-Assad’s government and rebels accused each other of launching a deadly chemical attack.
“We are very seriously concerned by the fact that weapons of mass destruction are falling into the hands of the rebels, which further worsens the situation in Syria and elevates the confrontation in the country to a new level,” the ministry said in a statement.
Russia has been the main ally of President Bashar Assad’s regime since the start of the uprising, in which more than 70,000 have died.
Syria’s state news agency accused rebels earlier Tuesday of using chemical weapons in the attack.
“Terrorists fired a rocket containing chemical substances in the Khan al-Assal area of rural Aleppo and initial reports indicate that around 15 people were killed, most of them civilians,” SANA news agency said.
A Syrian rebel commander denied reports that the opposition forces were behind the chemical weapon attack in Aleppo, saying the government had fired a rocket with chemical agents on the town of Khan al-Assal.
“We were hearing reports from early this morning about a regime attack on Khan al-Assal, and we believe they fired a Scud with chemical agents. Then suddenly we learned that the regime was turning these reports against us,” said Qassim Saadeddine, a senior rebel and spokesman for the Higher Military Council in Aleppo. “The rebels were not behind this attack.”
The report follows months of concerns over the possibility that President Bashar Assad’s regime was planning to use chemical weapons against the rebel forces and civilians in Syria.
