Russia Clearly Knew Assad’s Latest Chemical Attack in Syria Was Coming
Russia appears to have telegraphed Sunday’s attack in a tweet days before
After Syrian government forces used chemical weapons on Sunday as part of its offensive to retake enclaves from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an Al-Qaeda affiliate in Syrian, Russia kept silent. But it appears the Russian Ministry of Defense knew the attacks were coming, and indeed worked preemptively to spread vilifying information in hopes of justifying the violence.
Syrian opposition officials have determined that the regime of President Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons during airstrikes on strategic positions near a key Russian military base last Sunday, a move that has sparked fears among Syrian rebels that a final offensive — one backed by illegal weapons — is underway.
The attack on Sunday, according to two eyewitnesses who spoke with Medium from inside the area, followed a predictable pattern: artillery shelling from either Syrian or Russian forces, followed by regime helicopter and jet attacks.
According to Ahmed, a 31-year-old activist who asked that his family name not be reported for fear of retaliation by either the Assad regime or Al-Qaeda, the attacks began in the early afternoon, when regime artillery fired at…
