Macron reiterates warning that France will strike Syria over chemical attacks

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – France’s President Emmanuel Macron on Monday said his country was prepared to launch targeted strikes against sites in Syria used to deploy chemical attacks on civilians.

Macron was speaking to the press during a news conference in India where he addressed the ongoing conflict in war-torn Syria.

The French leader said his government would be ready to strike if it found “irrefutable evidence” chemical weapons had been used to kill, Reuters reported.

“The day we have, in particular in tandem with our American partners, irrefutable proof that the red line was crossed – namely the chemical weapons used to lethal effect – we will do what the Americans themselves did moreover a few months ago; we would put ourselves in position to proceed with targeted strikes,” Macron stated.

The French President was referring to a US airstrike last year which targeted a site in Syria that Washington had blamed for a deadly chemical attack on Idlib Province which killed over 80 civilians.

“We are cross-matching our own information with that of our allies but to put it very clearly we have an independent capacity to identify targets and launch strikes where needed,” he added.

In February, Macron had promised “retaliation and an immediate response from France” if the Syrian regime was found guilty of using chemical weapons against civilians, adding it would eventually “be answerable to international justice” for its crimes.

Meanwhile, the United States has also slammed Syria for its use of chemical weapons while charging that Russia bears substantial responsibility for the regime’s atrocities.

Washington denounced Assad’s forces and called on Moscow to restrain Damascus and help to hold it accountable.