Russian MOD Reports White Helmets Currently Staging “False Flag” Chemical Attack in Idlib

by Whitney Webb from Mint Press News

Russian military sources, as cited by Sputnik News, have reported that footage depicting what they have identified as a false-flag chemical weapons attack in Syria’s Idlib province is currently being filmed and is expected to be sent to different international television channels before the end of the day. The news has sparked concern that the promised retaliation from the U.S., U.K. and France could be less than a day away.

The Russian military sources — who work for the Russian Center for Syrian Reconciliation, which oversees Russia’s legal military presence in Syria — stated that “militants are now filming a staged provocation in the city of Jisr al-Shughur, where ‘chemical weapons’ are depicted as being used by the Syrian army against civilians.” Based on information “received from inhabitants of Idlib province,” the Russian military also stated that “film crew[s] of several Middle Eastern TV channels arrived in Jisr al-Shughur in the morning” along with “the regional affiliate of one of the main American television news networks.”

The report notes, unsurprisingly, that the staged event gives a prominent role to the Syrian White Helmets, who will be shown “’helping’ residents of Jisr al-Shughur after the Syrian army allegedly used the so-called barrel bombs with poisonous substances.” It also states that the “chemical weapon” to be used in the attack is two containers “loaded with a chlorine-based toxic substance.” At the time the Russian military issued the warning of an imminent “false-flag” chemical weapons attack, these containers were located at a grain storage site.

These warnings from the Russian military come after the Syrian and Russian governments presented evidence to the UN Security Council showing that Idlib “rebels” linked to Al Qaeda were planning to stage a chemical weapons attack in order to provoke foreign military intervention against the Syrian government.

Notably, a recent Wall Street Journal report stated that anonymous U.S. officials had confirmed that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had personally “approved” the use of “chlorine gas” against civilians in Idlib. That report also stated that President Trump may attack Syria regardless of whether or not a chemical weapons attack is alleged to have taken place...

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