Russian aircraft struck militant targets in the Idlib demilitarized zone, from which Syrian militants launched a “poisonous substance” attack on civilians in the city of Aleppo, Moscow announced.
The air raid was aimed particularly at artillery positions of the militants, according to the Defense Ministry’s spokesperson, Major General Igor Konashenkov.
All the targets were eliminated as a result of the airstrike
However, the militants did not plan to stop at one assault. Intelligence data showed that further attacks of the kind were planned, Konashenkov revealed.
The airstrikes came less than a day after several residential areas of Aleppo were hit with “gas” munitions fired by the Syrian militants. At least 46 people were treated for symptoms of chlorine poisoning, the Russian MoD confirmed earlier.
Local news agency, SANA, has put the injury toll even higher, saying that up to 107 people – women and children among them – fell victim to the assault.
Pinning the blame on unidentified foreign states, Damascus alleged that the attempts to “facilitate” delivery of chemicals to terrorist groups by these countries had led to the tragedy. Earlier cases where allegations of a toxic attack were made from the rebel side, quickly led to an outcry from the international community, who rushed to castigate Damascus.
The West’s reaction to the attack on late Saturday has been rather restrained so far. France is the only state that has given its take on the assault, saying the case should be addressed by the international chemical watchdog – the OPCW. Admitting that he does not have enough information at the moment, French President Emmanuel Macron promised to raise the issue in talks with his “partners” within the EU and beyond.
Meanwhile, Damascus has called on the UN Security Council to immediately condemn the “terrorist crimes” and “take … measures” against the states supporting terrorism.
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