The Mirror news reported that Russia has threatened the "gravest" of consequences to any foreign power considering military action against Syria over "fabricated" reports of a chemical attack. Over the US President statement that there will be "big price to pay" Moscow warned against taking action, the report says.
Russia, whose military backing of Bashar al-Assad turned the course of the war in his favour, denied that Syrian government forces deployed chemical weapons in the Syrian city of Douma. While the Syrian American Medical Society and the Civil Defence service stated 49 people had died in the attack, and other sources said the death toll is higher.
As soon as the reports began circulating, Syrian state media denied government forces had launched any chemical attack, saying rebels in Douma were in a state of collapse and spreading 'fake news'.
It's noteworthy that a brutal offensive on Eastern Ghouta was launched since February 22 by Assad and his Russian ally, killing more than 1600 people, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Thus the opposition factions in other parts of eastern Ghouta have taken safe passage to other opposition-held areas in North Syria, while Jaish al-Islam in Douma rejected that option.
On Sunday Syrian state media said a deal had been struck under which Jaish al-Islam would finally leave for the town of Jarablus after saying the group had asked for negotiations.