France said that those responsible for the use of chemical weapons in Syria must be held accountable following the release of a report by UN investigators confirming Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons.
In a report released on Wednesday, the UN Independent Commission of Inquiry on Syria concluded that the Assad regime forces were responsible for the April 4 sarin attack on the town of Khan Sheikhoun in rural Idlib that killed over 90 people, many of them women and children.
Spokeswoman for the French Foreign Ministry Agnes Romatet-Espagne said that “the perpetrators of this attack must be held accountable.”
In a briefing to journalists on Thursday, Romatet-Espagne said that the conclusions of the Commission’s report “confirm the Syrian regime’s responsibility for the April 4th sarin attack on Khan Sheikhoun, in agreement with our own national assessment published in April.”
“For France, there is no doubt of the Syrian army’s responsibility for this attack,” the French official added.
When asked about her country’s reaction now that the red line established by the French President was crossed, Romatet-Espagne said that France “will pay the utmost attention to corroborating evidence uncovered by the Pinheiro Commission on the various types of chemical attacks carried out in 2017.”
On coming to power, French President Emmanuel Macron warned the Assad regime that the use of chemical weapons was “a red line” and France would “riposte” unilaterally and take military action in this case.
UN investigators announced they had evidence of the responsibility of the Assad regime for at least 27 out of 33 chemical attacks that took place in Syria following the issuance of UN Security Council resolution 2118 in 2012.
Article 21 of UNSC resolution 2118 threatened measures under Chapter VII of the UN Charter in case chemical weapons were used. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department + Agencies)
