Russia: Militants using ambulances target residential areas, army positions in Syria

Russia says Takfiri militants are using ambulances and medical vehicles belonging to 'White Helmets' to launch attacks against residential neighborhoods as well as the positions of Syrian government forces across the war-torn country.

Yevgeny Gerasimmov, deputy chief of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of Warring Parties in Syria, said on Sunday that members of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) terrorist outfit use cars with medical symbols and vehicles of the 'White Helmets' group to attack government-controlled Syrian territories as well as the positions of Syrian army.

Gerasimmov noted that HTS militants carried out sixteen attacks on Saturday, including eight in the de-escalation zone in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib, five in the northern province of Aleppo and one in the western coastal province of Latakia.

Back on July 13, the senior Russian Defense Ministry official warned that HTS terrorists together with the 'White Helmets' were planning to stage yet another false- flag chemical attack against civilians in Idlib province to implicate Damascus.

• Russia: White Helmets plotting false-flag chemical attack in Syria’s Idlib to accuse Damascus

“The Russian Center for Reconciliation of Warring Parties in Syria has received information from local residents that the militants have transported containers laden with toxic substances to Akhsim and Balshun communities in Idlib province,” Gerasimmov said

“The HTS terrorists plan to carry out a false-flag operation in order to accuse Syrian governmental forces of using poisonous substances against civilians."

The White Helmets group, which claims to be a humanitarian NGO, is known for its coordination with terror outfits in Syria to carry out staged chemical attacks in order to falsely incriminate Syrian government forces and fabricate pretexts for military strikes against Syria.

On April 14, 2018, the United States, Britain, and France carried out a string of airstrikes against Syria over a suspected chemical weapons attack on the city of Douma, located about 10 kilometers northeast of the capital Damascus.

That alleged attack was reported by the White Helmets group, which published videos showing them purportedly treating survivors.

Washington and its allies blamed Damascus for the Douma attack, an allegation strongly rejected by the Syrian government.

The Western media and governments have repeatedly accused the Syrian government of using chemical weapons against its own citizens in the war against terrorists.

• Terrorists plot to stage false flag chemical attack in Syria’s Idlib: Russia Defense Ministry

This is while Syria surrendered its stockpile of chemical weapons in 2014 to a joint mission led by the United States and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which oversaw the destruction of the weaponry. It has also consistently denied using chemical weapons.

Russia has been providing Syrian forces with military assistance in the ongoing battles across the conflict-plagued Arab country. 

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