Middle East

France Says It Has Proof Syrian Government Was Behind Chemical Attack

France says the key evidence is the chemical makeup of the gas used in the April 4 attack and another in 2013.

France Says It Has Proof Syrian Government Was Behind Chemical Attack
French Foreign Ministry
SMS

France says it has proof Syrian President Bashar al-Assad ordered the deadly chemical attack in a rebel-held town.

France's foreign minister says the proof is in the chemical makeup. The April 4 attack killed dozens of people, and the gas used matched samples from a 2013 chemical attack that killed more than 1,400.

The minister said: "We have definite sources that the procedure used to make the sarin [gas] sampled is typical of the methods developed in Syrian laboratories. This method bears the signature of the regime."

Russia Blocks The UN From Investigating Syrian Chemical Attack
Russia Blocks The UN From Investigating Syrian Chemical Attack

Russia Blocks The UN From Investigating Syrian Chemical Attack

Russia vetoed a U.N. resolution that would have also condemned the attack.

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The 2013 attack was connected to the Syrian government using U.S. intelligence recordings, which picked up the entire process, from preparations to assessing the aftermath.

An official told CNN that U.S. intelligence agencies again intercepted communications between Syrian officials and chemical experts before the April 4 attack.