Militants left over 40 tons of chemical weapons in Syria : Russia

Militant groups have abandoned chemical arms production facilities and over 40 tons of chemical weapons after retreating from different conflict zones in Syria, a Russian defense ministry official says.
“More than 40 tons of poisonous substances were found on the territories, liberated from terrorists,” Igor Kirillov, the commander of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Forces, said at a press conference in Moscow on Wednesday.
The commander also criticized the international bodies for their refusal to cooperate with the Syrian government to launch an investigation into alleged chemical attacks across the country.
Late last month, the Russian Reconciliation Center in Syria said it had obtained information that militants in the Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta had been “preparing a provocation with the use of poisonous substances in order to blame the government forces of using chemical weapons against civilians.”
The disclosure of the information “has foiled the plans of the US-led coalition to strike key Syrian military targets in order to change the balance of power in favor of the so-called ‘moderate opposition,’” Kirillov pointed out.
Also on Wednesday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed concern over allegations of chemical attacks in Syria and called on the Security Council to adopt measures to address “such serious crimes.”