Syria says UN report on chemical attack ‘a falsification’
madaresharghi Syria said Friday a United Nations report accusing it of using sarin gas in an attack on the town of Khan Sheikhun in April was a “falsification of the truth.” “Syria categorically denies the content of the joint report between the UN and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons,” a Foreign Ministry […]
Syria said Friday a United Nations report accusing it of using sarin gas in an attack on the town of Khan Sheikhun in April was a “falsification of the truth.”
“Syria categorically denies the content of the joint report between the UN and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons,” a Foreign Ministry statement said, according to AFP.
“This report and the one that preceded it are falsifications of the truth and distort the exact information on what happened at Khan Sheikhun.”
UN investigators on Thursday blamed the attack on the Syrian government.
The Syrian statement, quoted by official media, denounced the “method of investigation,” saying it was based on “the words of the criminals who committed this immoral act in Khan Sheikhun and on dubious witnesses.”
The ministry said the UN report was written on the basis of “instructions from the US administration and Western countries to exert more political pressure” on Damascus.
Dozens of people died in the April 4 sarin gas attack on Khan Shaykhun in Idlib.
The US and some of its Western allies as well as the terrorists operating in the area blamed the Syrian government for the incident.
Syria and Russia, however, rejected the claims, suggesting that a weapon used by the terrorists might have detonated on the ground.
Syria turned over for destruction its entire chemical stockpile under a deal negotiated by Moscow and Washington in 2013. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons oversaw the operations to remove the chemical arsenal from Syria.