France threatens to strike Syria if regime continues using chemical weapons

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday warned the Syrian regime that France would launch strikes if evidence emerged of its use of banned chemical weapons against civilians.

“We will strike the place where these launches are made or where they are organized,” Macron told the presidential press corps.

“Today, our services have not established proof that proscribed chemical weapons have been used against civilian populations,” he continued.

“As soon as such proof is established, I will do what I said,” the French President warned, noting that “the priority is the fight against” the so-called Islamic State (IS).

Last week, Macron called Russian President Vladimir Putin—who is supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the ongoing civil war—to express his concerns about the use of chemical weapons.

In the telephone call, Macron said he was “worried about indications suggesting the possible use of chlorine on several occasions against the civilian population in Syria in these last few weeks.”

The French President promised “retaliation and an immediate response from France” if the Syrian regime was found guilty who he said 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.

Despite repeated US warnings, the Syrian regime was reported to have used chlorine gas in Idlib Province earlier this month.

Washington responded, once again, by denouncing Assad’s forces and calling on Moscow to restrain Damascus and help to hold it accountable.