U.S. State Department: Russia And Assad Regime Used Tear Gas Against Civilians In False Flag Attack

Russia and the Assad regime used tear gas against civilians in an apparent false flag attack, according to the U.S. State Department. The news was reported in a statement by the department on Friday.

The false flag attack was carried out against citizens. The government of Syria accused the opposition and extremist groups of conducting the attack. However, the State Department refutes the claim.

In Friday’s statement, deputy spokesperson Robert Palladino wrote that the U.S “has credible information that pro-regime forces likely used teargas against civilians in Aleppo on November 24.” Palladino added that “the United States has information indicating Russian and Syrian personnel were involved in the teargas incident.”

Russia and Syria apparently used the attack “as an opportunity to undermine confidence in the ceasefire in Idlib.”

Charles Lister, a senior fellow and Director of the Countering Terrorism and Extremism Program at the Middle East Institute, added on Twitter that it’s likely some European countries will release statements backing up the United States.

#pt: Behind the scenes, there's an expectation for one or more European states to issue statements supporting @StateDept's accusations re. #Aleppo attack. Interestingly, I just returned from #London & heard the same allegation made there. Time will tell if its backed up or not. — Charles Lister (@Charles_Lister) December 7, 2018

The news isn’t all that surprising since the Assad regime has gassed its own people in the past. The attacks on Syrian people by their own government began five years ago when the people tried to peacefully overthrow Assad during the Arab Spring.

The Syrian government has maintained control of the attack site, despite requests from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to take samples. The U.S. State Department warned Russia and Syria against “tampering with the suspected attack site.”

They urged the two countries to “secure the safety of impartial, independent inspectors so that those responsible can be held accountable.”