Damascus shells Idlib as UN chief warns of ‘bloodbath’

‘He’s been warned’ 

In Idlib, civilians and fighters have been scrambling to prepare for the looming offensive.

Western governments have said Damascus might again resort to the use of chemical weapons while Moscow has accused rebels of staging one as a pretext for Western intervention.

In a southern part of Idlib, a worried father busied himself making homemade gas masks, by stuffing gauze, cotton wool and coal into paper cups, then placing them in the corner of a large plastic bag.

“We’ve been hearing the regime and Russia threaten to bomb us with chemical weapons,” said Hadheefa al-Shahhad.

“We had to make these masks to protect our women and children just in case,” said the 27-year-old, who says he learnt how to make them by watching a video online.

On Tuesday, Russia claimed that Syrian rebels had begun working on film footage that would be presented to the world as the aftermath of an alleged chemical attack by the Syrian army.

Assad’s regime has been repeatedly accused of using chemical weapons during the conflict and last year US President Donald Trump unleashed Tomahawk missiles against the regime’s Shayrat airbase following an attack that killed more than 80 people.

After another alleged toxic attack outside Damascus in April, Britain, France and the US also carried out retaliatory strikes.

Washington has spoken of far bigger reprisals if Assad orders any repetition.

“He’s been warned, and so we’ll see if he’s wised up,” US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said on Tuesday.

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