On various Russian websites the fake story circulates that Belgian and French services want to stage a poison attack in Syria and then accuse the Russians. The Russian army has spread the fake news itself.

Special news on Russian websites - including the site of the Kremlin faithful newspaper Rossijskaja Gazeta - Friday evening: the Russian army warned of "again" a "cowardly" action from the West. Belgium and France, together with armed movements in the Syrian city of Idlib, want to stage a poison attack. They would then blame the Russians and the Syrian army for blaming the attack.

The major Russian news agencies Ria Novosti and Tass, on which all reports on Russian news websites are based, attributed the full report to the Russian army. Major General Viktor Koeptshichin, the head of the Russian Reconciliation
Center in Syria, speaks of organized provocation. "Agents from the French and Belgian secret services have arrived in Idlib," it sounds. "They have met the leaders of terrorist movements and the White Helmets, a pseudo humanitarian organization."

According to Koeptchichin, the French and Belgians have thought of everything: photos and video material to spread the 'fake attack' quickly, money for the 'extras' who would pretend to fall for one hundred dollars after the poison is released and a good disguise for the chemicals themselves. All poison gas is said to have been smuggled into the region in oxygen bottles. "To make it all seem even more realistic, the masterminds of this provocation could also use real poison gas, possibly against refugees and families being held hostage by terrorists," said Koeptshichin.

"By the way, between 14 and 27 March, the Belgian secret services also made images of air attacks by Russian fighter pilots at ammunition depots," added Koeptshichin. "This with the sole purpose of being able to use them later as evidence of a chemical attack by the Russians."

Launching a fake story of this size through an official Russian agency is not without risk. In October 2016, Russia insisted for days that Belgian fighter pilots with their F-16s made various civilian casualties in aerial bombardments
in Syria. To reinforce their allegations, Russia allegedly showed evidence, such as radar images and photos.

The then defense minister Steven Vandeput denied that there had even been Belgian planes in that area. The radar images eventually turned out to be falsified and the photos shown from the village of Hassadjek were from a bombing that took place a few years earlier. The Russian ambassador in our country was called up.

Iranian websites also actively spread the fake news on Saturday.

Linking Belgium to the use of gas shows a serious lacking of historical knowledge and why this country never could be implicated as it was the site of the largest gas attacks in military campaigns itself.

100 years after the end of WW1 this country is still dealing with it via heaps of ammunitions which are still unearthed. There is a special military unit still occupied with the safe removal of these which can still be lethal, even after more than a century.

As for the precision of our F16 pilots ... recently one of them on the ground thoroughly destroyed anotherone ... also on the ground ... and damaged yet anotherone.

https://www.aviation24.be/military-aircraft/belgian-air-component/
air-force-f16-destroyed-maintenance-collateral-damage-second/

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* Origin: Ceci n'est pas un courriel (2:292/854)