Sarin gas killed more than 90 people in Syria in an April 4 attack in Idlib province, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has found, Sky News reported Friday.
The organization’s report, which is not yet public, did not attribute the attack to a specific perpetrator, but Britain’s Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said Friday the culprit was obvious.
“The exact responsibility for dropping the sarin will now go to a joint investigative mechanism to be confirmed but I’ve got absolutely no doubt that the finger points at the Assad regime,” Johnson told Sky.
The April attack resulted in widespread condemnation of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. U.S. President Donald Trump responded to the attack by launching a cruise missile strike on a Syrian air base.
Assad “really embarrassed Moscow by allowing his generals” to deploy chemical weapons, Johnson told Sky. “That is one of the objectives that we’re trying to achieve: to drive a wedge between the Russians and the Iranians and between the Russians and Assad.” Russia and Iran are Assadâs biggest backers.
The comments come as tensions over Syria escalate. On Monday, the White House announced it had evidence the Assad regime was preparing to launch another chemical attack and warned it would âpay a heavy priceâ for doing so.
Assad has denied responsibility for the Idlib attack.