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Syrian woman uses oxygen mask
A woman, affected by what activists say was a gas attack, breathes through an oxygen mask at a field hospital in Kfar Zeita, Syria. Photograph: Reuters
A woman, affected by what activists say was a gas attack, breathes through an oxygen mask at a field hospital in Kfar Zeita, Syria. Photograph: Reuters

France backs claims that Syrian forces have used chemical weapons recently

This article is more than 9 years old
François Hollande says France has 'information' that toxic gases have been used against opposition in recent attacks

Allegations that Bashar al-Assad's forces used chemical weapons in recent attacks gained traction on Sunday when France said it had "information" of toxic gases being used against opposition targets.

The claim, by the French president, François Hollande, follows accusations by the exiled Syrian opposition and rebel groups in the west and south of the country that gas has been used nine times in the past two months, killing more than 10 people and affecting hundreds more.

Hollande was not specific about the basis for his claims, which he said had not been proved. However, France has remained in close contact with opposition leaders and previously used its own government laboratories to verify that sarin had been used in a mass attack near Damascus last August.

The French leader told Europe Radio 1 that whatever had taken place was "much less significant than those in Damascus … but very deadly".

France, the US and Britain vehemently blamed the Syrian regime for that attack, which killed between 355 and 1,400 people in rebel-held suburbs of the capital and led Barack Obama to threaten a military strike against Assad.

At the time, each government based its assessments on signals intelligence, which tracked rocket launches on the night of the attack, as well as intercepts of frantic conversations between field commanders and senior officials in the immediate aftermath.

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) was tasked with removing Syria's chemical weapons arsenal, which Assad surrendered in a deal brokered by Russia to avoid being bombed. It later found that samples taken from where the rockets landed matched those of the regime's supply of sarin.

The OPCW last week said 80% of Syria's chemical weapons had so far been handed over for destruction. The organisation told the Guardian recently that it would not investigate the new claims unless they were referred to it by a signatory state.

Syria has acknowledged that casualties in at least two recent attacks showed symptoms of being gassed. However, as was the case in the mass chemical strike, it blamed the al-Qaida-aligned rebel group Jabhat al-Nusra.

The Syrian National Coalition called for an international investigation after the most recent incident. It said samples of blood and clothing from people reporting symptoms of gassing had been transferred to Turkey for analysis. It also said it had passed on information to the United Nations and the OPCW.

Before the mass chemical weapons strike, opposition groups in frontline areas of Damascus had regularly alleged that fighters and citizens were dying of gas-like symptoms. The precise substance was never identified. However, British and US officials believed a diluted form of sarin, or industrial strength pesticides and chemicals such as chlorine, were likely culprits.

Residents of areas struck in recent months have reported a strong smell of a chlorine-like substance. In two cases they recorded video of a large bomb dropped from a helicopter exploding as it hit the ground and emitting a large grey cloud that was deemed to be unusual. Residents reported symptoms of nausea and respiratory distress in the hours afterwards.

Israeli defence officials also said this month they believed chemicals had been used in a recent attack near Damascus. However, they offered no details.

Pressed on what he could add, Hollande said: "What I do know is what we have seen from this regime is the horrific methods it is capable of using and the rejection of any political transition."

Assad made a rare public appearance on Sunday in the Christian town of Maaloula, which was captured from rebels last week. One returning resident told Reuters the village had been destroyed in the fighting. "The houses are totally destroyed, the whole village was destroyed. I can't describe the amount of damage to the village," said the villager, who gave her name as Lorain.

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