"Today, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Fact Finding Mission (FFM) issued a report confirming that sarin or a sarin-like chemical weapon was used on April 4, 2017, in Khan Shaykhun, Syria," the release stated Thursday.
The National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces blamed the government of Bashar Assad for a chemical weapon attack in Khan Shaykhun. In response, Washington launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at the Syrian governmental military airfield in Ash Sha’irat on April 6.
According to the release, the conclusion was made based on several types of analysis, such as biomedical samples taken from the victims and the surrounding environment, and from interviews with people who live in the area.
The report will be handed over for review to the OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM), which will determine the party responsible for the use of chemical arms, the release noted.
Syrian government authorities have previously denied any involvement in the incident and said they have destroyed all of their chemical weapons, while Russia called for a proper investigation.
