Alleged Chemical Attack, May 19, 2019

On the morning of May 19, 2018, another chemical weapons attack was called in, connected to ongoing battles in Idlib province, said to sicken 4 HTS fighters, and to kill no one. Some claim to expect more attacks, which might prove deadlier, increasing the chances of a foreign military response which so far seem unlikely.

Location: Kabanah / Kebanî on Wikimapia (see map with Al-Masdar report.)

Timing/Context
About six weeks later than the usual time frame for the yearly F-UK-US missile strikes over CW allegations (April 2017, April 2018, not yet 2019,) and a week after news of OPCW abuses of science was revealed, threatening the official narrative on CW incidents; see Alleged Chemical Attack, April 7, 2018.
 * Josie Ensor on Twitter May 22 "Why there and why now? HTS rebels were hit by suspected chlorine gas in Kabana - strategic mountainous area overlooking Assad heartland Latakia which has been frustrating regime advances in Idlib. Fighters use hills as launchpad for rocket & drone attacks on the Hmeimim air base" That had gone on for a long time. There is an ongoing offensive at the moment. But as to why use chemicals there, right now a week into the growing scandal regarding the opposition's important allies at the OPCW, she didn't offer much for another reason.

The event was presaged on the 17th in two parts, both stumbled on in Arabic-language tweets, auto-translated (as well as by ourselves, based on 16/17 May Russian reconciliation center report Ru/Eng):
 * 8:09 AM - 17 May 2019 "Nebenzia: ISIL terrorist organization in Idlib prepares for new chemical provocation to accuse Syrian Army"
 * 12:15 PM - 17 May 2019 "Ambassador Jonathan Cohen, in a session on #????_????? the situation on #???? Friday, stressed that the determination #????????_??????? will not trivialize the Assad regime's responsibility for the use of more chemical weapons. "We remind the regime and its allies that any use of the chemical weapon, including chlorine gas, will face a strong and sweeping response.""

The statement seems to have not been scary enough, or actually provoked Assad into defiance, because two days later sources linked to Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (not "ISIL") lodged their report of a chemical attack by the Syrian military.

Analysis

 * US Accuses Syria Of More Chemical Attacks Just As Chemical Weapons Narrative Crumbles - Caitlin Johnstone, May 22, 2019
 * Was There Or Wasn't There a Chlorine Attack in Syria Last Week? The OPCW controversy continues in a new shape. - Peter Hitchens, Mail on Sunday, May 25, 2019