(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) PARIS, April 26 (KUNA)-French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said on Wednesday there is "no doubt about" the responsibility of the regime of Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad in the deadly chemical attack against the town of Khan Sheikhoun last April 4.
At least 87 people died, among them 30 children, in that attack, which the regime denies it carried out.
But France has carried out its own investigation via civilian and military intelligence services and has concluded, without doubt, that Damascus used chemical weapons, a flagrant violation of commitments by the Syrian regime and of international law.
"The use of Sarin (gas) is not in doubt. The responsibility of the regime is not in doubt, either," Ayrault said in a statement at the Elysee Palace following a Defence and Security Council meeting chaired by President Francois Hollande.
Ayrault said that the chemical agent used and "the vector" that was in the area - meaning Syrian aircraft - left the obvious conclusion as to the responsibility of the Khan Sheikoun attack.
France has long suspected Damascus for the attack but now says it has clear evidence from its intelligence services to prove it suspicions. Ayrault further indicated that the technical specifics of the Sarin gas found after the April 4 chemical use showed "manufacturing procedures" that related to the use of chemical weapons by the regime in 2013 at Al-Ghouta, where around 1,500 people were killed.
The Organisation for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which is based in The Hague, has already said that the chemical agent found in Khan Sheikhoun was Sarin or similar compound. "In 2013, Syria committed to no longer use chemical weapons against its population and even ratified the international convention on banning chemical weapons. Today (Syria) is in clear violation of this convention which is ratified by 192 States worldwide." He urged "the international community to preserve the non-proliferation regime" for such dangerous weapons. (end) jk.gta
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