France and Britain urged members of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) on Friday to act firmly on the findings of the organization’s latest report that confirmed that sarin was used in the April 4 attack on the town of Khan Sheikoun.
France said that the report by the world’s chemical weapons watchdog was “unequivocal.” “The conclusions of this report are indisputable,” the French foreign ministry said in a statement. “The OPCW and its members must assume their responsibilities and condemn, in the strongest terms, this intolerable violation of the non-proliferation regime.”
After interviewing witnesses and examining samples, a fact- finding mission (FFM) of OPCW concluded that “a large number of people, some of whom died, were exposed to sarin or a sarin-like substance” in the attack on Khan Sheikhoun.
“Those who carried out the Khan Sheikhoun atrocities and other chemical weapons attacks must face justice for the crimes,” the French foreign ministry said.
Echoing the French statement, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said Friday he has “absolutely no doubt the finger points at the Assad regime” though exact responsibility for dropping the nerve agent will now go to a joint investigative mechanism to be confirmed.
“We will drive on with the UK campaign to impose sanctions on those responsible,” Johnson said. “People who drop chemical weapons on innocent people should be held to account,” he added.
Furthermore, US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley on Thursday said that her country is looking forward for an independent investigation by the United Nations and the OPCW to determine responsibility for the April 4 chemical attack on the town of Khan Sheikhoun in rural Idlib.
On April 7, the United States fired 59 Tomahawk missiles at the Shayrat airbase in eastern rural Homs following the sarin attack the Assad regime launched on the town of Khan Sheikhoun. The sarin attack claimed the lives of dozens of civilians, including many children. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department + Agencies)
