Banned nerve agent sarin used in Syria attack

The report was circulated to members of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague, but was not made public.

The attack on April 4 in the town of Khan Sheikhoun in northern Idlib province was the most deadly in Syria’s civil war in more than three years. It prompted a U.S. missile strike against a Syrian air base which Washington said was used to launch the strike. 

After interviewing witnesses and examining samples, a fact- finding mission (FFM) of the OPCW concluded that “a large number of people, some of whom died, were exposed to sarin or a sarin-like substance. “It is the conclusion of the FFM that such a release can only be determined as the use of sarin, as a chemical weapon,” a summary of the report said.

“Now that we know the undeniable truth, we look forward to an independent investigation to confirm exactly who was responsible for these brutal attacks so we can find justice for the victims,” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said in a statement on Thursday. 

A joint United Nations and OPCW investigation, known as the JIM, can now look at the incident to determine who is to blame, she said. The JIM has found Syrian government forces were responsible for three chlorine gas attacks in 2014 and 2015 and that Islamic State militants used mustard gas. 

Western intelligence agencies had also blamed the government of Bashar al-Assad for the April chemical attack. Syrian officials have repeatedly denied using banned toxins in the conflict. Half a million displaced Syrians return home: UN Nearly half a million Syrians have returned to their homes so far this year, including 440,000 internally displaced people and more than 31,000 returning from neighbouring countries, the UN refugee agency said.

Most returned to Aleppo, Hama, Homs and Damascus, it said, on the view that security had improved in parts of the country. “This is a significant trend and a significant number,” UNHCR spokesman Andrej Mahecic told a Geneva news briefing.