Turkey confirms use of sarin gas in Syrian province of Idlib
Autopsies carried out in Turkey on bodies of the residents of the Syrian province of Idlib who were killed in the recent bombing prove that chemical weapons were used against them, Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ stated.
“An autopsy of the dead revealed that chemical weapons were used in Idlib,” he said.
According to the Ministry of Health of Turkey, the nerve gas sarin was used during the attack.
There are 31 victims of the attack in Turkish hospitals, and 3 people have died.
On Tuesday morning, dozens of people died as a result of bombing in the Syrian city of Khan Shaykhun in the province of Idlib. Many of the victims had signs of severe chemical poisoning.
The Syrian military denies using chemical weapons, arguing that the gas was sprayed by members of the opposition group Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, which is associated with Al-Qaeda.
According to the Russian military, Syrian planes struck a large ammunition depot, where militants stored chemical weapons.
Earlier, United States President Donald Trump condemned the deaths of civilians in Syria as a result of the alleged use of chemical weapons.
“It was an insult to humanity,” Trump said, “When you kill innocent children, innocent babies, little babies…that crosses many, many lines.” Trump did not mention Russia in his comments.
Earlier, United States Vice President Mike Pence said that it was time for Russia to fulfill its obligation to destroy stockpiles of chemical weapons in Syria in accordance with the 2013 agreement.
On Wednesday morning, the United States, Britain and France proposed a resolution to the UN Security Council condemning the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian province of Idlib.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the proposed version of the resolution is “unacceptable.”
On the same day, Nikki Haley, United States Permanent Representative to the UN, said that Washington is ready to take action against Syria without waiting for a decision from the UN Security Council.
During the debates in the UN Security Council, Haley sharply criticized Russia for not being able to restrain its ally, the Syrian government.
“How many more children have to die before Russia cares?” the American diplomat asked.
Russia's representative to the UN said that Damascus cannot be accused of using chemical weapons.
Earlier, Syrian President Bashar Assad stated that the Syrian government did not use weapons of mass destruction, including chemical weapons, against its own people.
Assad mentioned that in 2013 Damascus agreed to destroy its chemical weapons storage facilities and today has no reserves of this type of weapons.