Ebun Francis with agency report || Syria’s President Bashar-al Assad of Syria has denied reports that his troops used chemical weapons in the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhoun on the 4th of April 2017. Assad called the allegation of a chemical attack by his troops “100% fabrication”.
In an exclusive video interview with Agence France-Presse, he said “there was no order to make any attack”.
Mr Assad told the AFP that the Syrian government had given up its arsenal of chemical weapons in 2013, adding “even if we have them, we wouldn’t use them”
The Syrian President was obviously following the script of his main backer, Mr. Putin of Russia who angered the west and the United States on Tuesday by vetoing a UN draft resolution that would have compelled Assad’s regime to co-operate with the investigation of the attack.
Mr. Assad said in the interview that he would only allow what he called an “impartial” investigation into the events at Khan Sheikhoun, to ensure it would not be used for “politicised purposes”.
It will be recalled that over 80 people were killed in the attack and hundreds suffered symptoms consistent with a nerve agent, a situation that lead President Donald Trump of the United States to order limited air strikes on the air base where the Syrian jets flew the mission from.