In the past couple of days, France has placed its foot firmly in the sarin debate in Syria. Foreign minister Laurent Fabius has related that according to France's own investigation, that the evidence speaks clearly of action from the Syrian regime aimed at the insurgents and civilians.
The French minister added that the reason for their belief that Syria used the sarin, and not the rebels, lies in the fact that blood samples from victims of a helicopter attack in April, in Idlib, leaves no doubt that it was the government that used sarin.
The US has asked again for the UN to investigate in situ, but Damascus refuses to let them in, although they are amenable to an investigation done by their ally, Russia.
France's admission, is also the first that related unequivocally that the agent used was sarin, and that the chemicals samples in their possession leave no question or doubt as to its nature.
The statement was followed by a reiteration of the 'all option are on the table' statement, which has characterized a lot of the western powers' stance.
Apparently, France has been smuggling samples through a covert reporter, who took them in Syria at the site of the attack. The samples will now be given to Sweden for independent testing.
The samples had been collected in or around the conflict zone in Jobar, not far from downtown Damascus, and in Saraqib, near Idlib.
Source : France 24/ 6.5.13//Boston Globe/6.5.13
No comments:
Post a Comment