LONDON – British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has stated that the UKmight support airstrikes against the Syrian government if there’s evidenceof chemical weapons’ use.
“If we know that it has happened, and we can demonstrate it, and if thereis a proposal for action where the UK could be useful then I think weshould seriously consider it,” Johnson told BBC.
The statement comes a day after the infamous White Helmets NGO claimed thatthe Syrian government had deployed chlorine gas against the townof Al-Shifoniya in Eastern Ghouta, allegedly killing one child and causing”widespread suffocation” among the local civilians.
While being praised by the Western governments, the White Helmets group,also known as the Syrian Civil Defense, has previously been accusedof falsifying information about its work in Syria and staging “rescue”attempts in its propaganda videos.
When asked to comment on the allegations, the Pentagon, however, statedthat the US currently sees no evidence of chemical weapons’ use.
Previously, the same threat was voiced by French President Emmanuel Macronlink>,who stated earlier this month that France would launch strikes if the factthat the Syrian government had used weapons of mass destruction (WMD)against its civilians was proven.
Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry warned that militant groupsin Eastern Ghouta were preparing a false flag attacklink>in anattempt to blame Damascus for using chemical weapons against civilians.
Syria has repeatedly denied allegations of chemical weapons use,underscoring that it had no weapons of mass destruction, which wasconfirmed by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons(OPCW).
However, on April 4, 2017, the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionaryand Opposition Forces, supported by the United States, accused Damascusof the Khan Sheikhoun incident in Idlib province, that left 80 people deadand injured 200 more. Western governments blamed Bashar al-Assad for beingresponsible for the use of sarin gas.
Reacting to the incident, the United States, having no proof of the useof chemical weapons by Damascus, launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missilesat the Syrian government airfield in Ash Sha’irat on April 7. – Sputnik