What possible motive would the Syrian Government have for launching a chemical weapons attack on the opposition forces now, when backed by Russia, they have virtually won and talks are in progress? It would only weaken their own position.
ISIS on the other hand has every reason to try and blacken the Syrian Government’s name so as put themselves in a stronger position at any talks. The terror group is not above killing a few of its own followers in the cause of the Caliphate.
The western press relies mainly on the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) for corroboration of the source of these attacks. Many think the organisation, run by one man, a Sunni Muslim, out of a small clothes shop in Coventry, may not be as reliable and authoritative as it is thought to be.Moreover the western left especially the BBC, conflates the word justice with anything anti Assad. Among western liberals, any means of blaming blame Syria, however ludicrous, suffices. Here is European Union’s top diplomat Federica Mogherini on the attack: “Obviously there is a primary responsibility from the regime because it has the primary responsibility of protecting its people.” If she were right that would make Britain responsible for the Nazi bombing of London!
Wikipedia with a neutral view the Syrian Observatory:-
‘The United Nations, newspapers, and nongovernmental organisations say that SOHR is an accurate source. “Generally, the information on the killings of civilians is very good, definitely one of the best, including the details on the conditions in which people were supposedly killed,” said Neil Sammonds, a researcher for Amnesty International.[10]
SOHR has been accused of selective reporting, with AsiaNews saying that they covered only violent acts of the government forces against the opposition for the first two years of its existence.[12] SOHR has also been accused of reporting militant anti-government fighters among dead civilians,[13] and has been described as being “pro-opposition”[14][15][16][17] and anti-Assad.[18][19] It has been criticised for refusing to share its raw data or methodology.[20] In October 2015, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova questioned the reliability of the organisation saying that it is based in London and has no ground access to Syria.[21] In March 2017, German Foreign Office spokesman Sebastian Fischer criticised the credibility of the organisation and called its findings “unsubstantial” after SOHR reported that a coalition airstrike carried out on intelligence from Germany caused civilian casualties. He went on to say that it is crucial to “take into account that those, who give specific information over to them [the SOHR], have their own interests consisting of this information being presented to the public in a particular way.”[22]‘
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