Syria Rejects Militants’ Accusations of Chemical Weapons Use in Douma
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Damascus said the accusations leveled by militant-affiliated media against the Syrian government regarding the use of chemical weapons in the city of Douma in Eastern Ghouta are meant to block the army’s advance against foreign-backed militants.
Terrorists are repeating the allegations of using chemical weapons in order to accuse the Syrian Arab army, in a blatant attempt to hinder the Army’s advance, the source said in a statement on Saturday evening, SANA reported.
They claimed that the army had used chemical weapons in the city of Douma during its military operations in response to attacks carried out by the foreign-backed militants on several Damascus neighborhoods and its surroundings.
The Syrian troops are determined to continue their anti-terror fight and end terrorism in every square inch of the Syrian territory, according to the statement.
“The chemical fabrications, which did not serve the terrorists and their sponsors in Aleppo and Eastern Ghouta, will not serve them today either, as the Syrian state is determined to end terrorism in every square inch of Syrian territory,” it said.
The accusations were made several hours after Jaish al-Islam terrorists targeted the city's al-Mazzeh area with some seven rockets.
Syrian forces resumed airstrikes on militant positions in Douma on Friday after the last remaining militants there violated an evacuation deal and shelled civilian areas near Damascus.
The Syrian government surrendered its stockpiles of chemical weapons in 2014 to a joint mission led by the UN and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which oversaw the destruction of the weaponry.
Western governments and their allies, however, have never stopped pointing the finger at Damascus whenever an apparent chemical attack has taken place.