De Mistura ignores Russia’s breaking of de-escalation agreements, blocking of inspections of chemical attacks
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Are Academics at UK Universities Pushing Pro-Assad Propaganda and Disinformation?
The Viral Disinformation that Douma’s Chemical Attack Victims Were Killed by “Dust”
UPDATE 0800 GMT: Residents of Douma, the site of the two chemical attacks by the Assad regime on April 7, have confirmed intimidation by Russian and regime authorities to support disinformation denying any assault.
“They asked us not to talk about anything. There was a direct warning,” said a man whose sister died in the attack. “Evidence has been erased. There is no evidence.”
The witnesses also told The Washington Post of the coercion of medical personnel, leading to staged interviews on Russian and Syrian State outlets — and possibly with Western journalists — denying the chemical attacks and blaming “dust” for up to 85 fatalities and hundreds of injured.
Residents confirmed that the doctors were present in medical facilities on the night of the alleged chemical attacks. The residents noted that these doctors were later questioned by security officials, and several people, who indicated that those exchanges were described to them, said the doctors were pressured into publicly denying that an attack occurred.
Several residents said the doctors initially were treated well, even being offered a meal with a Syrian security official before they were told to deny the attack on camera.
Meanwhile, the head of the White Helmets civil defense, Raed al-Saleh, offers a good reason why Russia and the Assad regime continue to obstruct any inspections in Douma:
We informed the @OPCW about the location of the site where victims of the chemical attack were buried
We hope that Syrian regime and Russia will allow the inspectors to enter #Douma We fear that the regime and Russia may move the bodies of victims and tamper or hide the evidence pic.twitter.com/8dg9LdmWzi— Raed Al Saleh (@RaedAlSaleh3) April 20, 2018
The UN special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, has appealed for de-escalation in a visit to Russia, but has made no concrete proposals for a halt to the pro-Assad attacks and sieges enabled by Moscow’s airstrikes.
After talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, De Mistura spoke of a need for a calming of tensions between global powers to restart diplomatic efforts.
“We need a political de-escalation, not only a military de-escalation, and I think that would be possible with further discussions,” he said.
De Mistura added that he was pleased to hear that there is a “strong commitment” from Russia for a political process.
The envoy did not mention the violation of de-escalation zones by Russia — even though Moscow has proclaimed them, both in broken agreements with rebels and in pronouncements with Turkey and Iran — in the pro-Assad conquest of East Ghouta near Damascus, including with chemical attacks, and in offensives in northwest Syria.
De Mistura said inspectors should be able to carry out their task as quickly as possible in East Ghouta’s Douma, hit by two chemical attacks on April 7. He did not mention the reasons why that task has been obstructed and delayed, or the reported removal of evidence by Russian personnel.
The inspection of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, with its experts held up in Damascus for a week, is now indefinitely suspended because of gunfire and an explosion when a UN security team was in the town on Tuesday.
Lavrov, speaking at a joint press conference along De Mistura, focused on getting a withdrawal of US forces from Syria.
“There is Resolution 2254 of the UN Security Council, under which Syria should be united and undivided and the political process should enable Syrians to define their fate without foreign interference,” Lavrov said. “All our steps are aimed at achieving this result.”
After his stay, De Mistura travelled to Iran, the other essential ally of the Assad regime, for meetings with officials such as Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Ansari Jaberi.
Regime and Russia Attack Islamic State and HTS in Southern Damascus
Having overrun East Ghouta, pro-Assad forces and Russian warplanes are now attacking the Islamic State position in the Yarmouk camp in southern Damascus.
The aerial and ground assault started on Thursday is continuing. Images of overnight bombing:
#Pt. Pictures showing #SyAF airstrilkes & rocket bombardment on #Yarmouk Camp in S. #Damascus. https://t.co/TZsVope0sV pic.twitter.com/YgnunV6ogl
— Qalaat Al Mudiq (@QalaatAlMudiq) April 21, 2018
Footage of battle on Friday:
#Pt. Video showing heavy battle today on S. #Damascus front. pic.twitter.com/cVu5Ee22cr
— Qalaat Al Mudiq (@QalaatAlMudiq) April 21, 2018
The area — home to more than 200,000 displaced Palestinians before the Syrian uprising — has been cut off by the Assad regime since late 2012, leading to a humanitarian crisis. It was taken by ISIS from rebels in spring 2015.
The pro-Assad assault is also on a smaller position of the jihadist bloc Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham.
So the Russians finally managed to bury the evidence, eh?
Sure Woody, and Saddam sent all his WMD to Syria too right?
Actually, the white helmets said they buried those killed in the alleged chemical attack in hidden graves: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-bodies/syrian-rescuers-give-opcw-team-locations-of-suspected-attack-graves-idUSKBN1HP1E9
Actually, the White Helmets (and others in the area) said local people — which could have included rescuers — buried the bodies.
Douma is made of several blocks and is highly urbanized. How can you bury 70 bodies in this tiny enclave with 20,000 people living there, without the relatives and others finding out?
Not very efficient are they. It took them 2 weeks to intimidate poor, hungry, and terrorized people, and remove the 85 corpses. And Putin wants to be a “superpower”. The only place Russia is a superpower is on social media.
The people were poor, hungry, and terrorized for 4 yrs. They are now liberated and celebrating
Video of OPCW returning to Damascus from Douma: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-43850979
The OPCW has announced on its website that it has visited at least one of the two suspected sites and will return again if necessary: https://www.opcw.org/news/article/opcw-fact-finding-mission-team-visits-douma-syria/
“The Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) team of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) visited one of the sites in Douma, Syrian Arab Republic today to collect samples for analysis in connection with allegations of chemical weapons use on 7 April 2018. The OPCW will evaluate the situation and consider future steps including another possible visit to Douma.”
Russian military police and the Syrian army ensured that the visit was conducted safely and discretely.
Is that the site that was cleansed first of evidence?
Took exactly 2 weeks for OPCW to get limited access to Douma, under Assad and Russian supevision, while you were lying to us that OPCW is free to inspect immediately after the attack – unlike the Skripals. Your constant lies and pattern of propaganda are annoying and you should be banned.
while you were lying to us that OPCW is free to inspect immediately after the attack – unlike the Skripals.
It took 2 weeks for the OPCW to get access to Salisbury too.
OPCW was invited 2 weeks after Salisbury when the nature of the problem was ascertained. Then they got immediate access. And an assassination is not a WMD, and OPCW’s interest is in WMDs not assassinations. Stop lying.
OPCW was invited 2 weeks after Salisbury when the nature of the problem was ascertained.
Wrong.
They had to have known the “nature of the problem” within hours of the victims being checked into hospital otherwise the victims would have died.
The Brirish government dragged it’s feet for 2 weeks. If you are going to make shit up, at least come up with a plausible scenario.
Again, you have no understanding of both the UK and OPCW process in this case — the guidelines were followed, unlike re Douma.
Your plan here is to waste Scott’s time, so he be engaged in refuting propaganda and fake news, instead of documenting the events.
110% regime work. Nuff debate on this.
0% evidence there was a CW attack. Nuff said.
Go back to sleep you silly thing.