Russia says it has received information showing that a Western-backed so-called aid group is preparing to stage a false flag chemical attack in the northwestern Syrian province of Aleppo to incriminate Damascus.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the “White Helmets,” which Moscow and Damascus say cooperate with Takfiri terrorist groups in the Arab country, had already started the filming process for the attack, Russia’s Sputnik news agency reported on Monday.
“The Russian center for reconciliation [in Syria] received information from residents of Aleppo that they are preparing another provocation with the use of toxic agents to accuse the government forces of using chemical weapons against the local population,” said Lt. Gen. Vladimir Savchenko, the head of the center, according to the ministry.
They arrived in Aleppo from the neighboring province of Idlib, bringing along containers holding toxic agents, he added.
The group, the official said, sought to stage artillery shellfire with the containers and also meant to provoke the Syrian military to retaliate.
The White Helmets group, projected by the West as “civil defense workers,” was founded by former British Army officer James Le Mesurier in 2014. The self-styled volunteer rescue group has been repeatedly accused of acting as the media arm for Takfiri groups, and charged with staging false flag chemical attacks in a bid to prompt Western military intervention in Syria.
