DAMASCUS, March 2 -- The Syrian army said late on Thursday that it had obtained "confirmed information" that the rebels in the capital Damascus' Eastern Ghouta region are planning to use chemical weapons to frame the Syrian government forces, according to state news agency SANA.
The "terrorist groups" in Eastern Ghouta countryside of Damascus have received orders to use chemical weapons in that region to frame the Syrian army, the army said in a short statement.
It is reported that the rebels will use toxic materials near the frontline with the Syrian army and will target civilians to draw in accusations to the Syrian army by Britain, the United States and other Western countries.
The Syrian army renewed its stance that the Syrian government has no chemical weapons and is not planning to obtain such weapons or using them at all.
The rebels in Eastern Ghouta have previously accused the Syrian army of using chlorine gas in their attacks on that rebel-held region in the eastern countryside of Damascus.
Western countries, such as the United States and Britain, have warned that they would respond with military actions if the Syrian army is proven to have used chemical weapons in attacks in Syria.
The situation in Eastern Ghouta is not easing up even as the UN Security Council has recently adopted a resolution to establish a cessation of hostilities across the country.
Also, three days have passed since a Russian-proposed humanitarian pause went into effect in Eastern Ghouta, with no civilians being evacuated from that area despite the shelling from both the rebels and the Syrian army continuing.