France: Syria Might Still Use Chemical Weapons

There are "strong indications" the Syrian regime has recently launched chemical attacks in the northwest of the country, according to top French officials.



French President Francois Hollande and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, speaking Sunday in Europe 1 radio station, said there are "several indications" that Syrian President Bashar Assad is still using chemical weapons against his people despite an agreement to destroy the regime's arsenal of chemical weapons before 30 June.



But Hollande acknowledged that his government has "no clear proof" that is the case.



He said, however, that his government had "a few elements of information" that Syrian government forces were behind chlorine gas attacks on at least three towns earlier this month. And he said Western officials have found credible evidence of the gassing of dozens of people in those towns over the past week, as well as earlier this month.



"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," said Hollande.



On April 11, Assad's regime and rebel groups exchanged accusations over a poison gas attack in the opposition-held village of Kfar Zeita, in the west-central province of Hama, 200 kilometers (125 miles) north of Damascus. 



Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said there were "indications" of potential chemical weapons attacks that need to be verified.



Fabius added that the recent attacks were "much less significant than those in Damascus a few months ago but very deadly."



Assad's regime is supposed to hand over its chemical weapons stockpiles for destruction by April 27. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which is overseeing the disposal of the weapons, said last week that the Syrian authorities had handed over the 13th shipment of the hazardous chemicals from Latakia Port.



The chief watchdog for chemicals, Ahmed Uzumcu, urged the Syrian regime to speed up the shipments as the country had already missed a Feb. 5 deadline for shipping out all the chemicals.



The weapons were taken by ship to Italy where the U.S. will destroy them safely in offshore waters.



The effort to destroy the weapons followed a chemical attack that killed hundreds of people in the suburbs of the Syrian capital, Damascus, on Aug. 21, 2013.



Sunday, Syrian State television broadcast a visit of President Bashar al-Assad to Maaloula, an ancient Christian village  60 kilometers (40 miles) northeast of Damascus, recently recaptured by his forces, to mark Easter. 



The opposition Syrian National Coalition said Sunday that it had submitted to the International Criminal Court 25 documents that provide evidence on the use of chemical weapons, internationally banned weapons, and rape by forces loyal to Assad regime.



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