U.N. experts: Assad regime responsible for Syria chemical attack

Oct. 26 (UPI) -- Syria's government was responsible for the chemical attack that killed more than 80 people in the town of Khan Sheikhoun, U.N. experts reported Thursday.

The report compiled by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the United Nations' Joint Investigative Mechanism found that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his regime were responsible for the deadly sarin attack.

"The panel is confident that the Syrian Arab Republic is responsible for the release of sarin at Khan Sheikhun on 4 April 2017," the report stated.

Syria repeatedly denied it was involved in the attack that prompted U.S. President Donald Trump to launch 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at a Syrian airbase.

Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said the report "confirms what we have long known to be true."

"The Security Council must send a clear message that the use of chemical weapons by anyone will not be tolerated, and must fully support the work of the impartial investigator," she said. "Countries that fail to do so are no better than the dictators or terrorists who use these terrible weapons."

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said "the reign of the Assad family is coming to an end" following news of the report.

"With [the Islamic State] on the brink of defeat, we continue our efforts to de-escalate the violence in Syria and support the Geneva process called for under U.N. Security Council Resolution 2254 to allow the Syrian people to chart a new political course," he said.

Russia vetoed a resolution on Tuesday to extend the investigation into the use of chemical weapons, drawing criticism from Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.

"This behavior can only undermine the global consensus against the use of chemical weapons," he said. "I call on Russia to stop covering up for its abhorrent ally and keep its own commitment to ensure that chemical weapons are never used again."