US, allies blast Assad regime's use of chemical weapons
The United States Department of State issued a joint statement with Germany, France and the UK condemning the Assad regime's alleged repeated use of chemical weapons following the release of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) latest report. "Syria must fully declare and destroy its chemical weapons program and allow the deployment of OPCW staff to its country to verify it has done so," the statement noted.
Earlier today, the OPCW's report revealed that the Syrian Arab Air Force released chlorine from a helicopter on April 7, 2018, killing 43 named individuals and affecting dozens more. Per the statement, this was Syria's ninth confirmed use of chemical weapons.
At the same time, the State Department urged Russia to stop protecting Syria from becoming accountable for its use of chemical weapons. "Russian military police helped the Syrian regime obstruct OPCW access to the site of the attack and attempted to sanitize the site," the department's statement claimed.