The new US envoy for Syria has said there is “lots of evidence” that Syrian government forces are preparing to use chemical weapons in Idlib.
Jim Jeffrey said an anticipated offensive against the last major rebel-held area would be a “reckless escalation,” Reuters reported.
The Syrian government has repeatedly denied ever using chemical weapons.
Russian planes have bombed rebel areas in the north-western region as troops mass for the expected offensive.
It comes as a summit is due to take place in Iran on Friday between the leaders of Russia and Iran, which both support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and Turkey, which has backed some rebel factions.
The UN has warned of a humanitarian catastrophe if an all-out assault takes place and Turkey fears a new influx of refugees across its border.
I am very sure that we have very, very good grounds to be making these warnings,” Mr. Jeffrey said in his first interview since being appointed.
“Any offensive is to us objectionable as a reckless escalation. There is lots of evidence that chemical weapons are being prepared.”
He did not give details of the evidence he was referring to.
The US state department warned on Monday that Washington would respond to any chemical attacks by the Syrian government or its allies.
Despite Syrian denials, experts from the UN and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) have said they are confident government forces were behind an attack involving the nerve agent Sarin on a rebel-held town in southern Idlib in April 2017 that killed more than 80 people.
Mr. Jeffrey said a “major diplomatic initiative” was now needed to end the seven-year civil war.
He said there was “a new commitment” by President Donald Trump to remain involved in Syria until the Islamic State group (IS) was defeated and to ensure that Iranian fighters – who are supporting the Syrian authorities in the conflict – leave the country.
Mr. Jeffrey said President Assad had “no future as a ruler” in Syria, but it was not Washington’s job to oust him.
He said the US would work with Russia on a political transition.
“Right now (the Syrian government) is a cadaver sitting in rubble with just half the territory of Syria under regime control on a good day,” he added.
With rebel forces defeated in most of Syria, the offensive in the north-western province of Idlib could prove to be the last major battle of the seven-year civil war.
There are believed to be up to 30,000 rebel and jihadist fighters in Idlib.
Burt Reynolds: Hollywood star dies, 82
Burt Reynolds, the wisecracking 1970s movie heartthrob and Oscar nominee, has died at the age of 82.
He reportedly passed away in a Florida hospital from a heart attack with his family by his side.
The moustachioed megastar underwent heart bypass surgery in 2010.
Reynolds is survived by his son, Quinton.
He shot to fame in 1972’s Deliverance, becoming a Hollywood legend with his roles in Smokey and the Bandit, The Cannonball Run and Boogie Nights.
The veteran actor’s agent, Todd Eisner, said his death was “heartbreaking.”
Reynolds died at the Jupiter Medical Center in Florida.
The movie star’s niece, Nancy Lee Hess, told the BBC his death had left the family “with a broken heart.”
“My uncle was not just a movie icon, he was a generous, passionate and sensitive man who was dedicated to his family, friends, fans and acting students,” she said.
“He has had health issues, however, this was totally unexpected.”
She added: “I want to thank all of his amazing fans who have always supported and cheered him on, through all of the hills and valleys of his life and career.”
Reynolds’ breakout movie role was in 1972’s Deliverance, which told the tale of four friends attacked while on a canoeing trip in rural Georgia.
The box office hit netted three Oscar nominations and made him a Hollywood sex symbol.
That same year Reynolds broke a publishing taboo by posing for a nearly nude centrefold in Cosmopolitan magazine, which he later said was a “really stupid” idea.
His career peaked in 1977 when he played trucker Bo Darville in action comedy Smokey and the Bandit.
Only Star Wars grossed more at the box office that year.
But his work went into freefall in the 1980s and his finances were ruined by failed investments in restaurants and a Florida football team.
Reynolds made a 1997 comeback playing a porn film director in Boogie Nights, which won him an Oscar nomination.
He was married twice, firstly to British actress Judy Carne in 1963, but they divorced two years later amid accusations of her over-spending and his infidelity.
Reynolds went on to marry American actress Loni Anderson in 1988, but that also ended bitterly in 1993.
They adopted their son, Quinton.
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Fears grow for Japan quake survivors as death toll rises
Rescuers continued to search for survivors of a powerful earthquake on Japan’s island of Hokkaido, as the death toll rose to 16.
Dozens are still missing with many feared buried under rubble after the quake triggered landslides.
Some 1.6 million residents across Hokkaido remain without power.
The quake is the second disaster to hit Japan this week, after a deadly typhoon lashed the country’s west coast.
The earthquake struck early on Thursday and thousands of people spent the night in evacuation centres.
The village of Atsuma was among the hardest hit, where roads and houses collapsed after huge landslides.
“We’ve heard there are people still stuck under the mud, so we’ve been working around the clock but it’s been difficult to rescue them,” a rescue worker in Atsuma told public broadcaster NHK.
One resident said: “It was horrendous. The land slid all the way down and I thought I would die. I thought my house would collapse.”
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe confirmed 16 people had been killed, many people injured, and 26 remained missing.
“Please give your sympathy to people who spent a dark night in fear, and do everything you can to restore electricity as soon as possible,” he instructed his ministers at an emergency cabinet meeting on Friday.
Authorities said it could take at least one week to restore power lines to the sparsely populated countryside.
With bad weather expected over the next days, officials are warning people to remain cautious and be prepared for aftershocks.
The island’s main airport resumed flights on Friday and train services are also scheduled to restart before the weekend.
The quake also affected several manufacturers on the island.
Operations at Toyota plant will be suspended until power is restored, the carmaker said.
A football friendly between Japan and Chile scheduled for Friday has been called off.
Israeli teen ‘dies in fall at Yosemite while taking selfie’
An Israeli teenager has fallen to his death in California’s Yosemite National Park while trying to take a selfie, reports say.
Tomer Frankfurter, 18, had been on a two-month trip to the US, Israeli media quoted his mother as saying.
She said she was told that her son had been trying to take a selfie when he slipped and fell 820ft (250m).
Israel’s foreign ministry said the teenager’s body was being brought back for burial.
In June, two rock climbers fell to their deaths in Yosemite while trying to scale the granite rock formation, El Capitan.
Another climber died in May on the Half Dome peak above Yosemite Valley and a British climber lost his life in a rock fall on El Capitan last September.
Yosemite National Park only recently reopened after being threatened by huge wildfires that have raged across California.
