London, 25 May – Washington, May 24, 2019 – The US administration is warning the Syria of a “quick and appropriate” response for the possible use of chemical weapons against its own civilians.
Reuters cited a US State Department statement saying that Washington sees signs the Syrian government may be using chemical weapons, including an alleged chlorine attack on Sunday in northwest Syria. The Trump administration is warning that Washington and its allies would respond “quickly and appropriately” if this were proven.
“Unfortunately, we continue to see signs that the Assad regime may be renewing its use of chemical weapons, including an alleged chlorine attack in northwest Syria on the morning of May 19,” State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement.
“We are still gathering information on this incident, but we repeat our warning that if the Assad regime uses chemical weapons, the United States and our allies will respond quickly and appropriately,” she said.
Ortagus said the alleged attack was part of a violent campaign by Syrian government.
President Bashar al-Assad’s forces violating a ceasefire that has protected several million civilians in the greater Idlib area.
“The regime’s attacks against the communities of northwest Syria must end,” the statement said. “The United States reiterates its warning, first issued by President Trump in September 2018, that an attack against the Idlib de-escalation zone would be a reckless escalation that threatens to destabilize the region.”
The State Department statement accused Russia and Assad’s forces of “a continuing disinformation campaign … to create the false narrative that others are to blame for chemical weapons attacks.”
“The facts, however, are clear,” the statement said. “The Assad regime itself has conducted almost all verified chemical weapons attacks that have taken place in Syria — a conclusion the United Nations has reached over and over again.”
In January, U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton warned the Syrian government against using chemical weapons again.
