US-led coalition again uses white phosphorus bombs in Syria: Russia

Russia says the US-led coalition purportedly fighting the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group has again used white phosphorus bombs to target residential areas in Syria.

“We are still worried by the actions of the United States of America in Syria. Jets navigated by the so-called coalition have been for a long time attacking the outskirts of the city of Hajin over the Euphrates River, which led to numerous civilians casualties,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at her weekly briefing in Moscow on Thursday.

“Last week, we spoke about 50 corpses that have been found in the south of Hajin, al-Shifa village. Last weekend in al-Bukan village, 40 people died, mostly women and children, as a result of the next airstrike,” she added.  

According to Syrian media, Zakharova said, “the aviation of the coalition once again used white phosphorus ammunition conducting these airstrikes. Americans continue denying this as fiercely as they alleged in April that the Syrian government had used chemical weapons in Douma.”

She added that militants were being trained at the US military base in Syria’s southeastern area of al-Tanf, which lies on the border with Iraq and Jordan.

PressTV-US marines hold joint drills with Syria militants

American marines have held eight days of “unprecedented” military exercises with US-backed militants in southern Syria in an attempt to send a “strong message” to Iran and Russia.

According to Zakharova, the camp was situated in an area that has been illegally occupied by the US.  She said that the large American military base has been deployed at the strategically important area under the pretext of fighting Daesh while there were numerous testimonies that “the training of militants is carried out” there. “Extremists from a number of groups are in much comfort in al-Tanf area as well.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman then pointed to a recent decision by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to change its mandate and grant the Technical Secretariat the right to assign blame for use of chemical weapons.

“In fact, this forced illegal decision about attribution caused not only damage, but a crushing blow to the OPCW. It deepens the split between the member-countries of this once successful organization, which has now become the target of such a naked political struggle,” Zakharova commented.

‘French terrorists enter Idlib to load missile with toxic chemical agents’

Meanwhile, French experts have reportedly arrived in Syria’s northwestern city of Idlib in order to upgrade missiles, which are in the inventory of foreign-sponsored Takfiri militant groups, and load them with toxic chemical agents.

PressTV-Russia: US plans to use false chemical attack to hit Syria

Russia says Washington is building up its military forces in the Middle East in preparation for possible strikes on Syrian government forces.

Local sources, requesting not to be named, told the Arabic service of Russia’s Sputnik news agency that the professionals aim to use the munitions in a fake chemical attack carried out by terrorists as a pretext for the United States and its allies to launch possible airstrikes on Syrian government forces.

Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. The Syrian government says the Israeli regime and its Western and regional allies are aiding Takfiri terrorist groups wreaking havoc in the country.

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