French Official Positive Syria Using Sarin Gas
Published at
FRANCOIS GUILLOT/AFP/Getty Images(PARIS) — French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius says the Syrian government has definitely used the deadly nerve gas sarin in its fight against opposition forces.
In an interview Tuesday with French TV, Fabius maintained, “There is no doubt that it’s the regime and its accomplices” who targeted their enemies with the agent that is banned by most countries.
He said the French government can base its claims on tests done on blood and urine samples that were smuggled out of Syria by journalists who alleged sarin was used in Damascus and the northern town of Saraqeb.
Although the foreign minister could not say where exactly the gas was deployed, he said the results will be sent to the United Nations and that the perpetrators must be punished.
The Obama administration has expressed its belief that chemical agents have been used in Syria but is waiting for more incontrovertible evidence before taking action.
Both Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and rebel fighters have accused the other of killing civilians with chemical weapons.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio