A senior Syrian government minister has claimed Britain was 'absolutely' involved in faking a chemical attack in Douma to justify the western air strikes against Assad's regime.

The suspected chlorine assault is believed to have killed around 75 civilians including children and led to US, UK and French airstrikes targeting major areas linked to Syria's chemical weapons programme.

Deputy foreign minister, Faisal Mekdad, said: 'We are not aware that women and children were killed. We think this is a theatre.'

'That was made to be used by the western powers to launch such an attack against Syria,' Mekdad told ITV News.

'I believe what our doctors who were there in the hospital, in that minute, they were saying they did not see any dead person,' he added. 'I believe our doctors, not international propaganda.'

Yet the head of the largest medical relief agency in Syria claims those who treated patients after the attack were told their families would be targeted if they spoke out.

Doctors were subjected to 'extreme intimidation' by Syrian officials who demanded their silence, report the Guardian.

Mekdad said those who told of their heartbreak after losing their children in the alleged attack 'forced to give such testimonies'.

Asked about the videos of dead bodies he said: 'I think the bodies may be imported from somewhere else. I believe that, because this was a big lie.'

The minister also accused Britain of helping terrorist groups in Syria and being a part of this 'conspiracy'.

It comes after Russia's military chiefs claimed to have evidence that Britain had 'direct involvement' in staging the suspected chemical attack in Syria.

Britain's UN ambassador Karen Pierce said the suggestion was 'grotesque' and a 'blatant lie' following an emergency meeting of the Security Council.

Inspectors have now finally visited one of the sites of the alleged attack report ITV - but their visit was heavily delayed after they were shot at when approaching the area.

The Syria government says it has retaken control of Douma from rebels, but Mekdad said 'sleeping cells' from terrorist groups remain there.

Russia has also been accused of delaying the inspectors in order to hide any evidence of chemical weapons use.

The OPCW plan to have results from their first inspection within a week.</s>Video report by ITV News Correspondent Dan Rivers

Additional reporting by ITV News Editor Jonathan Wald

A senior Syrian government minister has accused the UK of being involved in faking a chemical attack on civilians in order to justify air strikes against the regime. Faisal Mekdad, the deputy foreign minister, told ITV News Britain was "absolutely" involved in faking an attack in Douma, which a number of Western governments say killed civilians including women and children. The alleged incident on the 7th April reportedly killed 75 people, leading to airstrikes by the US, France and UK, targeting several sites linked to Syria's chemical weapons programme.

Missiles over Damascus after the US and allies launched airstrikes against Syria Credit: PA

"We are not aware that women and children were killed. We think this is a theatre. That was made to be used by the western powers to launch such an attack against Syria," Mekdad told ITV News correspondent Dan Rivers. "I believe what our doctors who were there in the hospital, in that minute, they were saying they did not see any dead person," he added.

"I believe our doctors, not international propaganda." The head of a medical relief agency operating in Syria has claimed medics who responded to the attack have been subjected to “extreme intimidation” by Syrian officials. People who had told ITV News they lost their children in the alleged attack were "forced to give such testimonies" Mekdad added.

Explosions from Syrian government attacks on Douma Credit: AP

Asked about the videos of dead bodies: " I think the bodies may be imported from somewhere else. I believe that, because this was a big lie." He accused Britain of supporting terrorist groups in Syria, saying they are "part and parcel of this conspiracy" against Syria. Britain's UN ambassador has previously denied a Russian military claim that the UK staged the attack in Douma, calling it "bizarre" and "a blatant lie." The Foreign and Commonwealth office has called the latest accusations "baseless and absurd".

The Syrian regime's allegations are baseless and absurd. This is a regime that uses chemical weapons against its own people, denies humanitarian access to starving communities, and frustrates the UN-mandated peace process. The regime's credibility is at rock-bottom, and its hopeless lies and disinformation deserve nothing but contempt. – FCO statement</s>BEIRUT (AP) — The Latest on the Syria conflict (all times local):

The U.S.-led international coalition against the Islamic State group says its local allies in Syria have captured a Syrian-born German IS operative previously tied to a 9/11-linked jihadist cell.

U.S. Col. Ryan Dillon says the Syrian Democratic Forces captured Mohammed Haydar Zammar in northeast Syria roughly four weeks ago.

Zammar, a Syrian-born German, was a key member of a Hamburg jihadist cell that included three of the Sept. 11 suicide pilots.

Dillon says Zammar is in SDF custody. He says coalition officials are working with the SDF in "ongoing intelligence activities." He declined to say whether officials have met face-to-face with Zammar.

The Kurdish-led SDF have been of the U.S.'s most trusted allies in Syria in its war on the Islamic State group. The U.S. has some 2,000 special forces embedded with the SDF.

The White House says it wants to wind down America's troop presence in Syria.

The U.N. spokesman says discussions are taking place in Syria's capital with all key parties on security arrangements for inspectors from the U.N. chemical weapons watchdog to visit the site of a suspected chemical attack in Douma.

Stephane Dujarric told reporters at U.N. headquarters Thursday that "due to the volatility" of the situation on the ground in Douma the United Nations doesn't want "to telegraph" when a U.N. security team will return to Douma to check out whether conditions on the ground are safe for the inspectors to visit.

A U.N. security team touring the sites of the alleged attack on Tuesday was shot at and subjected to a blast but returned safely to Damascus, Dujarric said earlier.

The alleged April 7 chemical attack in Douma prompted the United States, France, and Britain to strike at suspected Syrian chemical weapons facilities.

Syrian state media says government forces have retaken control of a town in northeast Damascus after rebels departed to north Syria.

Al-Ikhbariya TV showed footage of residents welcoming security forces into Dumayr after the last busload of Army of Islam rebels and their family members left to Jarablus, a town in north Syria.

Jarablus is shared between Turkish and Syrian opposition control.

Residents, waving the national flag, lifted the al-Ikhbariya TV correspondent Rabieh Dibeh on their shoulders and chanted their support for President Bashar Assad.

About 1,500 fighters and 3,500 of their family members left Dumayr on Thursday, choosing to relocate to north Syria than accept an amnesty offered by the government.

Dumayr is in the Qalamoun mountains, near the eastern Ghouta region which came under full government control last week after a weeks-long offensive and an alleged chemical weapons attack.

Syrian state media says government forces have started bombing an Islamic State-held zone in Damascus.

An arrangement announced earlier Thursday for the militants to give up their pocket in the capital appears to have fallen apart.

Al-Ikhbariya TV says government planes are bombing the Hajr al-Aswad neighborhood and the Yarmouk Palestinian camp, both under IS control.

Earlier on Thursday, the Damascus-based Palestinian official Khaled Abdelmajid said the government was giving hard-liners two days to leave Yarmouk and Hajr al-Aswad, leaving the government with control of the two neighborhoods.

Local opposition activist Sami Dreid, in the nearby Yalda neighborhood, said the militants were expected to relocate to IS-held territory in the east Syrian desert.

Dreid said it was not clear why the deal appeared to have fallen through.

The spokeswoman for Russia's Foreign Ministry says Syrian troops found chlorine of German origin in the Eastern Ghouta region, which includes a town where a suspected chemical weapons attack prompted retaliatory missile strikes by the West on Syrian government targets.

Syria and its Russian backers deny that government forces were responsible for the reported attack in the town of Douma. The Russian Defense Ministry has claimed the incident was staged by Britain and a Russian general in Syria says no evidence of chemical weapons has been found in Douma. Rebels who once held the town abandoned it this month.

However, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Thursday that "Syrian government troops, in freeing the territory of Eastern Ghouta, found containers with chlorine, the most terrible kind of chemical weapon, from Germany." The statement appeared to be aimed at bolstering contentions that Syrian rebels have used chemical weapons.

Iraq says it has launched airstrikes in neighboring Syria against Islamic State militants.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's office says Iraqi fighter jets launched "lethal" airstrikes against the extremists in an area along the border. It says the militants posed a threat to Iraq, without providing further details.

Syrian and Iraqi forces have driven IS from nearly all the territory it once held, but the extremists have maintained a presence in the remote desert areas along the border. Iraq has carried out airstrikes in Syria against the group in the past.

Syrian state media say hundreds of rebels fighters in a town northeast of Damascus have handed in their weapons and started to leave under an evacuation deal.

Under the agreement, the rebels are allowed to move with their families to opposition-held areas in the country's north, effectively surrendering their turf to Syrian government forces.

The state SANA news agency says the Army of Islam fighters and their families are leaving the town of Dumayr on Thursday. The report says 1,500 rebels and 3,500 of their next of kin are to leave Dumayr for the town of Jarablus, near the Turkish border.

Dumayr is in the Qalamoun mountains, near the eastern Ghouta region which came under full government control last week after a weeks-long offensive and an alleged chemical weapons attack.</s>The situation in Syria is extremely complicated, but some of that complexity is working against Russia and Syria’s own claims that there was never a chemical weapons attack in Douma on April 7, 2018. Today is April 21st, and only now is the team from the Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) finally entering Douma.

Earlier reports this week from Al-Jazeera indicated that a contingent of the UN Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) attempted entry into the Syrian city on Tuesday, 17 April, but were repelled by an outbreak of small-arms fire, this in a city reportedly completely secure of terrorists. The UNDSS has been continuing its work but while laying blame on no one, they expressed some concerns, as reported by the OPCW’s internal document dated April 18:

On 16 April, we received confirmation from the National Authority of the Syrian Arab Republic that, under agreements reached to allow the evacuation of the population in Ghouta, the Syrian military were unable to enter Douma. The security for the sites where the [Fact Finding Mission, a.k.a. FFM] plans to deploy was under the control of the Russian Military Police. The United Nations Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) has made the necessary arrangements with the Syrian authorities to escort the team to a certain point and then for the escort to be taken over by the Russian Military Police. However, the UNDSS preferred to first conduct a reconnaissance visit to the sites, which took place yesterday. FFM team members did not participate in this visit. On arrival at Site 1, a large crowd gathered and the advice provided by the UNDSS was that the reconnaissance team should withdraw. At Site 2, the team came under small arms fire and an explosive was detonated. The reconnaissance team returned to Damascus. The UNDSS will continue to work with the Syrian National Authority, the local Councils in Douma, and the Russian Military Police to review the security situation. At present, we do not know when the FFM team can be deployed to Douma. Of course, I shall only consider such deployment following approval by the UNDSS, and provided that our team can have unhindered access to the sites. This incident again highlights the highly volatile environment in which the FFM is having to work and the security risks our staff are facing…”

On 21 April, the Spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova gave this comment about the situation:

Early on April 21, a special OPCW mission for finding traces of chemical weapons left for the city of Douma (Eastern Ghouta) to the place of suspected use of toxic chemicals on April 7. We consider such delays in a notable case like that, for whatever reasons, to be unacceptable, since the security of the OPCW staff was ensured not only by the Syrian side, but also by the command of the Russian military forces in the Syrian Arab Republic…”

There is a dissonance between the two reports since the OPCW claims that affiliated activity was thwarted by hostile fire in Douma, and that it took place days ago. It appears that Russia is worried that the OPCW will not be factual and honest when they conduct their work:

According to Zakharova, Moscow expects OPCW experts to conduct an impartial investigation of the Douma incident and submit an unbiased report as soon as possible. “We appeal to western colleagues to refrain from actions obstructing efforts to establish the truth regarding the provocation in Eastern Ghouta on April 7,” she said. The efforts of OPCW experts to limit the scope of locations related to the suspected chemical attack planned to be visited and the round of those examined in Douma raise concerns, the statement said.

From an outside observer’s point of view, particularly in the West, this dissonance of information tends to make Russia look bad, as if they were trying to hide something. While we at The Duran have thrown a great deal of light on the situation already, and that light appears to indicate that there was indeed, NO chemical attack in this city, the fact that there seems to be very little in the way of objective media coverage seems to be deliberately turned against Russia and Syria. Al-Jazeera has indicated its alignment to be quite strongly anti-Putin and therefore by extension, anti-Russia in much the same manner as the West.

In all matters concerning Syria then, at least for the next few weeks, the news flow from this region is extremely suspect. While it has always seemed that the legitimate powers in the region are the Syrian government and Russia, the West has the propaganda advantage.

This war is being fought in the newsrooms of the world every bit as much as it is being fought on the ground, and this is an injustice to the people of Syria in the worst way.</s>A senior Syrian government minister has accused the UK of being involved in faking a chemical attack on civilians in order to justify air strikes against the regime. Faisal Mekdad, the deputy foreign minister, told ITV News Britain was "absolutely" involved in faking an attack in Douma, which a number of Western governments say killed civilians including women and children. The alleged incident on the 7th April reportedly killed 75 people, leading to airstrikes by the US, France and UK, targeting several sites linked to Syria's chemical weapons programme.

"We are not aware that women and children were killed. We think this is a theatre. That was made to be used by the western powers to launch such an attack against Syria," Mekdad told ITV News correspondent Dan Rivers. "I believe what our doctors who were there in the hospital, in that minute, they were saying they did not see any dead person," he added.

"I believe our doctors, not international propaganda." The head of a medical relief agency operating in Syria has claimed medics who responded to the attack have been subjected to “extreme intimidation” by Syrian officials. People who had told ITV News they lost their children in the alleged attack were "forced to give such testimonies" Mekdad added.

Asked about the videos of dead bodies: " I think the bodies may be imported from somewhere else. I believe that, because this was a big lie." He accused Britain of supporting terrorist groups in Syria, saying they are "part and parcel of this conspiracy" against Syria. Britain's UN ambassador has previously denied a Russian military claim that the UK staged the attack in Douma, calling it "bizarre" and "a blatant lie." Inspectors from the Organization of the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons have now visited one of the sites of the alleged attack, but their visit was delayed. Russia has been accused of delaying them in order to cover up any evidence of chemical weapons use. Inspectors were also shot at when they approached the area. Although the Syrian government claims to have retaken control of Douma from rebels, Mekdad claimed there are still "sleeping cells" from terrorist groups there. The OPCW should have results from their first inspection within a week.</s>A senior Syrian government minister has accused the UK of being involved in faking a chemical attack on civilians in order to justify air strikes against the regime.

Faisal Mekdad, the deputy foreign minister, told ITV News Britain was "absolutely" involved in faking an attack in Douma, which a number of Western governments say killed civilians including women and children.

The alleged incident on the 7th April reportedly killed 75 people, leading to airstrikes by the US, France and UK, targeting several sites linked to Syria's chemical weapons programme.

"We are not aware that women and children were killed. We think this is a theatre. That was made to be used by the western powers to launch such an attack against Syria," Mekdad told ITV News correspondent Dan Rivers.

"I believe what our doctors who were there in the hospital, in that minute, they were saying they did not see any dead person," he added.

"I believe our doctors, not international propaganda."

The head of a medical relief agency operating in Syria has claimed medics who responded to the attack have been subjected to "extreme intimidation" by Syrian officials.

People who had told ITV News they lost their children in the alleged attack were "forced to give such testimonies" Mekdad added.

Asked about the videos of dead bodies: " I think the bodies may be imported from somewhere else. I believe that, because this was a big lie."

He accused Britain of supporting terrorist groups in Syria, saying they are "part and parcel of this conspiracy" against Syria.

Britain's UN ambassador has previously denied a Russian military claim that the UK staged the attack in Douma, calling it "bizarre" and "a blatant lie."Inspectors from the Organization of the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons have now visited one of the sites of the alleged attack, but their visit was delayed. Russia has been accused of delaying them in order to cover up any evidence of chemical weapons use.

Inspectors were also shot at when they approached the area. Although the Syrian government claims to have retaken control of Douma from rebels, Mekdad claimed there are still "sleeping cells" from terrorist groups there.

The OPCW should have results from their first inspection within a week.</s>Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday denied allegations that Russia is working with the Syrian government to keep international inspectors away from the chemical weapons attack site in Douma so the evidence can be destroyed.

“As for yesterday’s statement, which said that the US has evidence to prove that Russia and Syria were delaying OPCW experts from gaining access to the town of Douma – if they really have it, let them present it,” Lavrov said at a press conference.

“We have more than once presented the evidence that we have, including pictures and people’s interviews. As for our counterparts, we have only heard allegations about evidence, be it the alleged Douma incident or the Salisbury incident,” Lavrov continued, the latter a reference to the attempted assassination of former spy Sergei Skripal with nerve agents in Britain.

Inspectors from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) attempted to enter Douma to examine the chemical attack sites this week but were kept away by security concerns, including gunfire and an angry mob appearing at one site.

The U.S. State Department on Thursday said it has obtained “credible information” that Russian and Syrian officials are working together to deny inspectors access to Douma, buying time for the attack sites to be “sanitized” and incriminating evidence removed.

British Ambassador to the United Nations Karen Pierce echoed these accusations on Friday, saying there is a “possibility” that Russia and Syria have tampered with evidence in Douma.

“We look to the Russians and the Syrians to uphold the promises they made to the Security Council last week that the inspectors would be allowed in, that they would be escorted, that they would be safe and that they could have free access,” she said.

Pierce did not indicate the British government has any evidence that Russia and Syria are deliberately holding back inspectors or tampering with evidence at the sites. Instead, she stressed the importance of allowing the OPCW team to conduct its work “expeditiously” and file a thorough report.

On Thursday evening, British Prime Minister Theresa May accused the Russians of running a “disinformation campaign” to cover up the chemical weapons abuses in Douma and Salisbury.

“This disinformation campaign is not just aimed at social media and the UK – it is intended to undermine the actual institutions and processes of the rules-based system, such as the Organisation for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons. We must do all we can at every turn to challenge this,” May said.

This week, the director of the largest medical relief agency working on Syria, the Union of Medical care and Relief Organizations (UOSSM) said that doctors who treated patients in Douma were intimidated and threatened by agents of Syrian dictator Bashar Assad, including threats of violence to their families if they tell international inspectors what they have seen.

“There has been a very heavy security presence on the ground ever since the attack and they have been targeting doctors and medics in a very straightforward way. Any medic who tried to leave Douma was searched so vigorously, especially for samples. At one medical point, seven casualties were taken away. The Russian military police were heavily involved. They were directing things,” said one physician.

“We were receiving threats since the siege began, prior to the chemical weapons attack. When the attack took place, things became much more dangerous. They’re wiping out evidence that would prove the crime, and they are forcing doctors and residents who are witnesses to say that nothing took place,” said another medic.

AFP reported on Thursday that photographs circulated by Russia and the Assad regime that purportedly showed “White Helmet” rescue volunteers faking the chemical attack in Douma were themselves fakes. The photos were taken from the set of a propaganda film supported by the Syrian culture ministry that was completed and screened over a month before the chemical attack.</s>THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) - Chemical weapons watchdog confirms that inspectors have visited Douma to investigate alleged April 7 chemical attack.

The Washington Times is switching its third-party commenting system from Disqus to Spot.IM. You will need to either create an account with Spot.im or if you wish to use your Disqus account look under the Conversation for the link "Have a Disqus Account?". Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.</s>A senior Syrian government minister has accused the UK of being involved in faking a chemical attack on civilians in order to justify air strikes against the regime. Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad told ITV News Correspondent Dan Rivers that Britain was "absolutely" involved in faking an attack in Douma. The alleged incident on April 7 is said to have killed 75 people.</s>Speaking to Sputnik, doctor Mirwan Jaber from a Douma hospital has described a video depicting victims of an alleged chemical attack in Eastern Ghouta as fabricated footage.

"Many people burst into the hospital. Among them were those clad in medical outfit but they were not our employees, and I do not think that they were medics at all. They started shouting something about a chemical attack dousing people with water and all this was filmed. As a result, rumors were spread among Douma residents, something which in turn sparked panic," Jaber said.

READ MORE: Ex-UN Commission Member: Militants' Lab Equipment in Douma Made in UK or Germany

He added that the medics did not know the cause of all this chaos and that doctors approached people who were wet from water, but who had no signs that they were damaged by chemical weapons.

According to Jaber, symptoms indicating that a person is affected by a chemical warfare agent include burns or sores on the skin and eyes, as well as coughing, chest pain, dizziness, nausea, drowsiness, involuntary urination and defecation, skin acne, rashes and severely narrowed pupils.

"The participants of the staged video did not have these symptoms," the doctor underlined.

READ MORE: Moscow Slams Reports Russia Stopping OPCW from Entering Douma as 'Unscrupulous'

He drew attention to the fact that using chemical weapons typically leads to the death of animals and insects in a kill zone where trees and grass wither, being covered by dust.

"All those who were hit by chemical weapons can be hospitalized long after a chemical attack; a strong smell of fruit, flowers or garlic emerges in the air. As you can see, all this is not the case with Douma," Jaber stressed.

Earlier this month, a number of media outlets and Western countries accused Damascus of using chemical weapons in the Damascus suburb of Douma on April 7.

The Syrian government and the Russian Defense Ministry rejected the allegations as a false flag provocation, which they said was staged by the White Helmets group to influence public opinion and prod the US to launch a missile strike on Syria.

The views and opinions expressed by Mirwan Jaber are those of the analyst and do not necessarily reflect those of Sputnik.
Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad accuses the United Kingdom of faking evidence of a chemical weapons attack in Douma.