Syria: France's evidence of chemical weapons use increases with 14 samples
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| A man alleged to be a victim of a chemical attack is treated by doctors in Aleppo. |
France's evidence that the chemical nerve agent sarin has been used in the Syrian civil has dramatically increased, with 14 separate samples now having tested positive from victims.
28 Jun 2013: The conclusive results were taken from the blood, urine, hair and clothes of people at the site of battles between President Bashar al-Assad's regime and rebel fighters.
A first batch of results from three initial urine samples led Laurent Fabius, the French foreign minister, to declare earlier this month he was "in no doubt" that sarin gas had been used in Syria – at least once by the regime.
The fresh results "indicate the scale of sarin use by governmental forces in the months of April and May on the front lines," according to Le Monde, whose reporters brought back most of the samples and struck a deal with the government to publish their findings.
The bulk of the new evidence was collected from 13 people mainly in the Damascus area and examined by France's only certified chemical weapons test laboratory, the state-run centre du Bouchet.
Some came from clothes taken from unknown victims picked up from Jobar, a district of Damascus, during a chemical weapon attack at a time when rebels were fighting government troops.
One was from a T-shirt and a blood sample taken from a victim who reportedly later died after coming into contact with the nerve agent.
A 14th sample was apparently collected by the French state itself, after an April 29 helicopter attack by regime forces on Saraqeb, in the northwest province of Idlib. One woman died in the airborne chemical drop.
After this incident Mr Fabius said there was "no doubt that it was the regime and its accomplices" that deployed sarin.
However experts said that the new results were unlikely to convince Russia, which has previously rejected the French assertions.
"This level of evidence is much wider but you still wouldn't get a conviction in a court on it because of the difficulty of proving who used it," said Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a former commander of Britain's WMD forces.
In all, sarin was found in eight urine samples, two hair samples, three clothes samples and one blood sample.
They were all provided by a doctor working in a medical centre in Kaffer Batner, a suburb of Damascus where victims were treated for chemical attacks mostly in Jobar, partially controlled by rebels. The doctor's identity was kept secret for fear of reprisals.
The new results will increase pressure on the international community to act. President Barack Obama has indicated that conclusive proof of the use of chemical weapons would be a "game changer" for Washington.
Britain has come close to endorsing the French line, saying it was "highly likely" the nerve agent had been used and that "the room for doubt continues to diminish." Any use of chemical weapons would amount to a war crime under international law.
28 Jun 2013: The conclusive results were taken from the blood, urine, hair and clothes of people at the site of battles between President Bashar al-Assad's regime and rebel fighters.
A first batch of results from three initial urine samples led Laurent Fabius, the French foreign minister, to declare earlier this month he was "in no doubt" that sarin gas had been used in Syria – at least once by the regime.
The fresh results "indicate the scale of sarin use by governmental forces in the months of April and May on the front lines," according to Le Monde, whose reporters brought back most of the samples and struck a deal with the government to publish their findings.
The bulk of the new evidence was collected from 13 people mainly in the Damascus area and examined by France's only certified chemical weapons test laboratory, the state-run centre du Bouchet.
Some came from clothes taken from unknown victims picked up from Jobar, a district of Damascus, during a chemical weapon attack at a time when rebels were fighting government troops.
One was from a T-shirt and a blood sample taken from a victim who reportedly later died after coming into contact with the nerve agent.
A 14th sample was apparently collected by the French state itself, after an April 29 helicopter attack by regime forces on Saraqeb, in the northwest province of Idlib. One woman died in the airborne chemical drop.
After this incident Mr Fabius said there was "no doubt that it was the regime and its accomplices" that deployed sarin.
However experts said that the new results were unlikely to convince Russia, which has previously rejected the French assertions.
"This level of evidence is much wider but you still wouldn't get a conviction in a court on it because of the difficulty of proving who used it," said Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a former commander of Britain's WMD forces.
In all, sarin was found in eight urine samples, two hair samples, three clothes samples and one blood sample.
They were all provided by a doctor working in a medical centre in Kaffer Batner, a suburb of Damascus where victims were treated for chemical attacks mostly in Jobar, partially controlled by rebels. The doctor's identity was kept secret for fear of reprisals.
The new results will increase pressure on the international community to act. President Barack Obama has indicated that conclusive proof of the use of chemical weapons would be a "game changer" for Washington.
Britain has come close to endorsing the French line, saying it was "highly likely" the nerve agent had been used and that "the room for doubt continues to diminish." Any use of chemical weapons would amount to a war crime under international law.
Courtesy: The Telegraph
