US has ‘indications’ Syrian forces used chlorine gas in attack on rebels
The United States has indications that a toxic chemical was used in Syria and is examining whether the Assad government was responsible, the State Department said on Monday.
The United States has indications that a toxic chemical, probably chlorine, was used in Syria this month and is examining whether the Syrian government was responsible, the US State Department said on Monday.
“We have indications of the use of a toxic industrial chemical” in the town of Kfar Zeita, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said, referring to a rebel-held area.
“We are examining allegations that the government was responsible,” she told a regular news briefing. “Obviously there needs to be an investigation of what’s happened here.”
“The Assad regime continues to carry out war crimes in its slaughter of innocent men, women, and children.”
Syrian opposition activists reported that helicopters dropped chlorine gas on Kfar Zeita on April 11 and 12. The US ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, told ABC television’s on April 13 that the attack was “unsubstantiated”.
Psaki said chlorine was not one of the priority-one or -two chemicals Syria declared to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) under a Russian-US agreement for the destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile.
Psaki said the United States was still trying to determine the facts.
“We take all allegations of the use of chemicals in combat use very seriously,” she said.” We’ll work with the OPCW, who is obviously overseeing the implementation, and determine if any violation occurred.”
