French tests confirm use of sarin in Syria

France said it was certain that the nerve agent sarin had been used in Syria on several occasions following tests it carried out on samples.

“These tests show the presence of sarin in various samples in our possession,” foreign minister Laurent Fabius said in a statement, adding that the test results had been handed to the United Nations.

UN investigators said they had “reasonable grounds” to believe that limited amounts of chemical weapons had been used in Syria in a conflict where brutality was now a tactic of war.