Syria rebels used sarin: Russia

The Russian ambassador to the United Nations says that firsthand evidence shows that militants, and not the Syrian army, have manufactured sarin nerve gas and used it during an attack near the city of Aleppo in March.

On Tuesday, Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said that Russian experts collected samples at the site of the attack in the region of Khan al-Assal, where over two dozen people, including 16 Syrian troops, died on March 19.
He stated, the samples were examined at a laboratory in Russia which is certified by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), and the results of the analysis prove that a missile fired by the militants was filled with sarin.
Churkin said, “The results of the analysis clearly indicate that the ordnance used in Khan al-Assal was not industrially manufactured and was filled with sarin… The projectile involved is not a standard one for chemical use. Hexogen, utilized as an opening charge, is not utilized in standard ammunitions. Therefore, there is every reason to believe that it was armed opposition fighters who used the chemical weapons in Khan al-Assal”.
He went on to say that he had also delivered the evidence to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
Britain, France, and the United States have accused the Syrian government of using chemical weapons. Damascus has denied the charges, saying it was actually the militants who used chemical weapons on several occasions.