International News

MOSCOW, Nov (MILLAT+AFP) – The Russian military said Friday it
has evidence of the use of chemical weapons by rebels in Syria’s besieged eastern city of Aleppo.
“Experts from the Russian defence ministry have found unexploded
artillery ammunition belonging to terrorists which contains toxic substances,” the military said in a statement.
“After rapid analysis in a mobile laboratory, we have determined that
the toxic substances in the rebels’ ammunition are highly likely to be chlorine gas and white phosphorous.”
The ammunition was discovered in the 1070 district on the
southwestern outskirts of Aleppo, the statement said.
The Russian news agency Interfax said this zone was recaptured from
the rebels by Syrian government troops a few days ago.
A more thorough analysis will be carried out by a Russian military
laboratory accredited to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical
Weapons (OPWC), the Russian defence ministry said.
Syrian state media late last month accused rebel groups of having
fired shells containing toxic gas into government-held parts of Aleppo, leaving dozens of people including civilians in need of treatment.
Last month, a joint OPWC panel concluded that Syrian government
forces carried out three chlorine gas attacks on villages in 2014 and 2015.
Russia, however, has dismissed the findings of the joint
investigative mechanism (JIM) as “unconvincing” and said no sanctions should be imposed on Syria for the chlorine gas attacks.
Using chlorine as a weapon is banned under the Chemical Weapons
Convention, which Syria joined in 2013 under pressure from its ally Russia.