06 April 2017•Update: 06 April 2017
By Hajer M’tiri
PARIS
France's top priority is to push for a new UN resolution on Syria after Tuesday’s deadly chemical attack, Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said on Thursday.
Speaking on CNEWS television, Ayrault said preliminary information indicated that "a cocktail of chlorine and other substances" was used in this week’s attack.
“It is terrible. There are deaths, including the most fragile children, more than 400 wounded. That's the regime of Bashar al-Assad," he said.
On Tuesday, more than 100 civilians were killed and 500 others, mostly children, were injured in an attack allegedly carried out by Assad regime warplanes, according to the Syrian opposition government's health minister, Firas Jundi.
"France wants to get a resolution in the Security Council but it is difficult," Ayrault indicated, noting "France is still seeking to talk with its partners on the Security Council, especially the permanent members, and Russia in particular."
However, Ayrault said France would not deploy militarily forces on the ground in Syria, adding that the U.S. response was still unclear.
"This is not about us entering into a logic of war on the basis of a hot-headed decision by [U.S. President Donald] Trump.
“France is not a belligerent country on the ground in Syria against one party or another," Ayrault added.
The French diplomat said Assad should be prosecuted over the incident.
"These crimes must not remain unpunished... A day will come when international justice will rule on Bashar al-Assad, who is massacring his own people."
On Wednesday, French President Francois Hollande called for sanctions and "a strong international reaction," accusing Assad's regime of war crimes.
