DISINFO: Terrorists are preparing a chemical weapons attack in Idlib
SUMMARY
The Russian army has warned that a provocative chemical weapons attack is being prepared in Idlib by the pseudo-humanitarian organisation White Helmets which are cooperating with the terrorist group Tahrir al-Sham. The plan is to accuse the government forces of conducting the attack although terrorists are behind it.
RESPONSE
The claim is made without evidence and follows an established pattern of unsubstantiated accusations regarding the White Helmets' complicity in chemical attacks in Syria. Available evidence on such attacks has yet to link a single incident to any other party than the Assad regime.
This is also a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the White Helmets. The White Helmets are the subject of recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives on the Syrian civil war, having already been accused of numerous other provocations and war crimes including organ trafficking; aiding terrorist organisations; staging and/or perpetrating chemical attacks, sometimes with the help of Western intelligence agencies.
The Russian Centre for Syria Reconciliation periodically announces, without providing evidence in this regard, that it has evidence of the preparation of a chemical false flag attack in Idlib by the White Helmets. For more information about the use of the White Helmets in pro-Kremlin disinformation regarding the Syrian war, see here, here, and here.
For more background about Kremlin's attempts to detect "provocations" before they even take place read our analysis "Potemkin Prophecies".