West, silent on Damascus shelling, threatens Ghouta action

Rasa - France has joined the US and Britain in threatening Damascus with possible airstrikes in the event of further chemical weapons use in Syria.

News ID: 436673

Date: 03 March 2018 - 20:47

RNA - Their threats on Friday came as terrorist groups continued shelling a safe corridor declared by the Syrian government for civilians to leave Eastern Ghouta.

Takfiri terrorists have turned the enclave on the suburbs of Damascus to a launch pad for mortar attacks on the Syrian capital.

The Syrian army is currently in the midst of an operation to drive the terrorists out of Eastern Ghouta, but it is facing a hostile West threatening attacks on Syrian troops which it accuses of targeting civilians.

Western leaders were quick to point the finger at the Syrian government after reports of chlorine release in Eastern Ghouta last week.

For years, foreign-backed militants have appeared to release chemical substances in the areas close to the site of government airstrikes and capture the aftermath on videos.

French President Emmanuel Macron and his US counterpart Donald Trump vowed there would be "no impunity" in the event of further chemical weapons use in Syria in a telephone call Friday.

Macron "stressed there will be a firm response in the case of proven use of chemical weapons leading to the death of civilians, in close coordination with our American allies," a statement from the French presidency said.

"France and the United States will not tolerate impunity," the statement said, adding the leaders also urged Russia to put "maximum pressure" on Damascus to commit to a UN ceasefire across Syria.

Syria and Russia have already declared a unilateral ceasefire across Syria, but that does not include areas held by Daesh, al-Qaeda and al-Nusra Front along with "individuals, groups, undertakings and entities" associated with the terrorist groups.

France has repeatedly warned that evidence of further use of chemical weapons in Syria is a "red line" that would prompt French strikes.

Washington has asked the UN Security Council to set up a new inquiry on chemical weapons attacks, for which the Syrian government has repeatedly denied responsibility.

The United Nations Human Rights Council on Friday was set to hold an emergency session on Eastern Ghouta at the request of Britain.

However, they are generally silent on daily mortar attacks on Damascus, which take the lives of civilians.

On Friday, Syria’s official SANA news agency said the terrorists in the Damascus suburb targeted the humanitarian corridor out of Eastern Ghouta with three shells to prevent the civilians from fleeing the militant-held area.

The latest attacks came shortly after a fourth humanitarian pause in the fighting took effect in Eastern Ghouta.

An activist group has recently posted video footage online, depicting how the country’s capital has been “living a nightmare” for years at the hands of the terrorists targeting it from the city’s suburb of Eastern Ghouta.

The video by The Truth about Syria purportedly features a compilation of recordings captured during the near-daily mortar barrages and their aftermaths, as well as pictures of some of the children, who were killed during the raids.

The Eastern Ghouta-based groups launched 340 mortar shells on the capital, killing 19 civilians, including three children, and wounding 172 others, over seven days towards the end of February, the description reads.

After losing most of the Syrian territories in their control, militants are now largely concentrated in the Damascus countryside.

Source: Press TV

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