Foreign Minister Gabriel on reports of a poison gas attack in the Syrian town of Khan Sheikhoun

On the margins of his visit to London, Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel issued the following statement today (4 April) on reports of a poison gas attack in Syria’s Idlib province:

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Should reports be confirmed that people in the Syrian town of Khan Sheikhoun were victims of a poison gas attack for which the Syrian regime is responsible, this would be an act that plumbs the depths of cruelty. It would be yet another reason why we must not count on the Assad regime to help in the fight against terrorism.

We trust that the United Nations Security Council will take a clear stance should this suspicion be confirmed. Anyone who is responsible for such acts must know that, sooner or later, he will be brought to justice. This is one of the reasons why Germany is assisting UN efforts to collect evidence of the most serious violations of human rights in Syria.

Both the use of chemical weapons and targeted attacks on medical facilities violate international humanitarian law, as well as all standards of the international community and in particular the Chemical Weapons Convention, which Syria joined in 2013.

from
http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/EN/Infoservice/Presse/Meldungen/2017/170404_BM_Syrien.html?nn=479796