UK Foreign Minister Boris Johnson says he has “absolutely no doubt” that the Assad regime is responsible for the chemical weapon attack on Khan Sheikhoun on April 4.
He wants the perpetrators to be held to account.
Johnson was speaking in response to a report from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons which confirmed both that sarin was used. There is “abundant evidence” the chemical signature of that sarin is identical to that which the Assad regime was known to possess, Johnson said.
Johnson said that the confirmation of the presence of sarin is just the first step in a process which will determine the actors and determine a punitive response.
“We’ve got a European Council coming up where we will drive on with the UK campaign to impose sanctions on those responsible,” he said.
“The U.S. has already brought out sanctions on 300 people as a result of this. People who drop chemical weapons on innocent people should be held to account.”
About 100 civilians were killed by sarin during the April 4 attack on Khan Sheikhoun in Syria’s Idlib province. Idlib was controlled by rebel forces, but there were no soldiers in Khan Sheikhoun.
Of the 100 killed, about two dozen were children.
