France: Sarin gas used in Syria

Tests have confirmed that sarin gas has been used multiple times in Syria, according to France’s foreign minister.

Laurent Fabius said samples taken from Syria and tested by a laboratory in France “prove the presence of sarin in the samples in our possession”.

Mr Fabius says France “is certain that sarin gas was used in Syria multiple times and in a localized way”.

A UN report had earlier said there were “reasonable grounds” to believe that limited quantities of toxic chemicals had been used as weapons in at least four attacks in Syria’s civil war, but more evidence was needed to determine the precise chemical agents and who used them.