Syria slams chemical attack report as "fabricated out of thin air"

Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-02 01:10:40|Editor: Mu Xuequan
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DAMASCUS, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Syria's Foreign Ministry on Saturday slammed a report by chemical weapons watchdog on chemical agent allegedly used by Syrian government forces as "far from logic" and "unacceptable."

The report by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is based on fabricated narratives, which lacks credibility and is unacceptable, the ministry said in a statement.

A day earlier, the OPCW said the nerve agent sarin was used in an attack in April on the Syrian town of Khan Sheikhun and was likely to have spread from a crater in a road where a projectile had hit.

The report also found that hexamine, a known component of the Syrian government's stockpiles, was contained in samples taken from the scene and from the blood and urine of victims.

The OPCW said its mandate was solely to determine whether chemical weapons were used in the attack, as a UN investigative taskforce will attempt to determine who was responsible.

In its statement, the ministry said the report was "misleading, and apparently aiming to cover the truth."

The ministry contended that the report was based on testimonies taken from "terrorists" based in Turkey.

The ministry stressed that the chemical attack was carried out by the terrorist groups in Khan Sheikhun, adding that Syria is in no possession of chemical weapons.

It noted that the Syrian government has requested the OPCW to send investigation team to Khan Sheikhun, "but the OPCW said it was unable to come as the terrorist groups in that area rejected."

"Syria has also informed the OPCW that it will provide an airplane for the OPCW members to visit the Sheirat airbase, but the invitation was also rejected," as Sheirat is the airbase struck by the U.S. following the chemical attack over charges that the attack was prepared in that base and carried out by Syrian warplanes.

Activists said the attack in Khan Sheikhun killed over 100 people and left 300 others contaminated.

The Syrian government rejects such reports, saying they are filled with "misleading information and American threats," the ministry said.

Meanwhile, the ministry urged the OPCW to prepare decent and credible reports "far from the extortion of the countries that don't want the truth to be revealed."

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