WASHINGTON:  There is “lots of evidence” that chemical weapons are being prepared by Syrian government forces in Idlib region in northwest Syria, the new U.S. representative for Syria said on Thursday, warning any attack on the last big rebel enclave would be a “reckless escalation.”

“Any offensive is to us objectionable as a reckless escalation,” the envoy, Jim Jeffrey, told reporters. “There is lots of evidence that chemical weapons are being prepared.”