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WH: Assad Will "Pay a Heavy Price" if New Chemical Attack is Launched

The US has detected potential preparations for a chemical attack at the Syrian Shayrat airfield, which was used in April to launch a chemical attack in Khan Sheikhoun. Above is a gruesome scene of carnage in the immediate aftermath of the sarin gas attack. Among the victims were many children

By: Fern Sidman

T

he United States has detected potential preparations for a chemical attack at the Syrian Shayrat airfield, which was used in April to launch a chemical attack that killed more than 100 people in Khan Sheikhoun. In an ominous statement issued, Press Secretary Sean Spicer said the U.S. had "identified potential preparations for another chemical weapons attack by the Assad regime that would likely result in the mass murder of civilians, including innocent children." He said the activities were similar to preparations taken before an April 2017 attack that killed dozens of men, women and children, and warned that

if "Mr. Assad conducts another mass murder attack using chemical weapons, he and his military will pay a heavy price."

In the middle of May it was reported that the Syrian government had carried out mass killings of thousands of prisoners and had their bodies incinerated in a crematorium to conceal the grisly evidence The White House offered no details on what prompted the warning and spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said she had no additional information Monday night.

There was no specific information or evidence presented about the alleged preparations. A non-governmental source with close ties to the White House told the AP that the administration had received intelligence that the Syrians were mixing precursor chemicals for a possible sarin gas attack in either the east or south of the country, where government troops and their proxies have faced recent setbacks. Syrian officials denied the allegations. U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley wrote on Twitter that any further attacks against Syrian civilians "will be blamed on Assad, but also on Russia and Iran who support him killing his own people." Russia and Iran are Assad's main

backers, and have provided military support in the complex fight against both rebels and Islamic State militants. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Tuesday threats against the Syrian leadership are "unacceptable," and that he did not know of any information about a threat for a chemical attack. Analysis by the French government found that sarin gas was used along with a stabilizer known as hexamine, and that the same manufacturing process was used for a 2013 chemical attack attributed to the Syrian government. A U.N. investigation found credible evidence that sarin was indeed used in August 2013 attack on the Damascus suburb of Ghouta that killed hundreds

of civilians. In most alleged chemical weapons attacks since then, the agent thought to be used most often has been chlorine. Rebel groups have also been accused in the past of using chlorine in rocket attacks, and the Islamic State terror group has been blamed for a mustard gas attack in Syria. After the April 4th attack, The Idlib Media Center, an organization of pro-opposition activists and rescue workers known as the White Helmets posted video footage and still photographs of the aftermath of the airstrike on the town of Khan Sheikhoun.