28 April, 2017
Earlier, the United Kingdom and France claimed that their experts have "received" samples from the site of the incident, which they passed on to OPCW labs who then identified the chemical agent used in the attack as sarin gas.
The report said that based on its assessments, there were "serious doubts on the accuracy, completeness and sincerity of the dismantlement of Syria's chemical arsenal". Furthermore, the report noted that the attack on Khan Sheikhoun came during a counter-offensive by Syrian forces in nearby Hama. "This method bears the signature of the regime, and that is what has allowed us to establish its responsibility in this attack".
According to the French report, the new sample was compared to another one of questionable integrity; this time obtained from a 2013 attack, in which an intact, unexploded "hand grenade" containing 100 milliliters of sarin was allegedly dropped from a government helicopter.
Ayrault said French intelligence showed that only Syrian government forces could have launched such an attack by a bomber taking off from the Shayrat air base, which was later targeted in a retaliatory us missile strike.
Jean-Marc Ayrault said analysis of samples taken at the scene of the April 4 attack in rebel-held Khan Sheikhun in which 31 children were among the dead showed "there is no doubt that sarin gas was used" and that it was produced by Syrian laboratories.
"The French intelligence services consider that only Bashar Assad and some of his most influential entourage can give the order to use chemical weapons", the report said. The office said that evidence will be made public, but it offered no further details.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia's position on the attack is "unchanged" and that "the only way to establish the truth about what happened.is an impartial global investigation".
The Syrian government repeatedly denied having any sort of chemical weapons following the 2013 deal with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
Meanwhile, global leaders yesterday urged all nations to help "banish forever the evil of chemical weapons", as the world's watchdog warned that decades-long progress towards eliminating them was under threat.
Later, we learned that the USA military had information showing the jets used in the chemical attack had been launched from the Al Shayrat airfield in Syria, an airbase where Syrians and Russians were working together.
"In the Middle East, belligerents are breaking the norm against chemical weapons", he said.
Earlier Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the USA strike damaged the prospects of a political settlement for the war-torn country.
Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Russian Federation had to boost security measures at its air base in Syria after the USA strike at the Syrian base.
Russia, which backs Assad in the conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions, has said the gas was released by an air strike on a poison gas storage depot controlled by the opposition or Daesh.
