White House: French Sarin report in Syria uncorroborated

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Tuesday that lab tests on samples taken from unspecified locations in Syria had shown the presence of sarin in various locations. The results were referred to the UN. Fabius said those who used the deadly nerve agent should be punished. In his first statement he did not specify where, when or by whom the agent was deployed, but in a later broadcast interview he named Bashar Assad.
White House Spokesman Jay Carney commented in answer to a reporter’s question: France too says more work needs to be done to establish who used the poison gas and the circumstances around it.  “We need to build on the information we have to expand the evidence and have it corroborated before we make any decisions.” We will continue with that effort, working closely with France, allies and the Syrian opposition. Carney said: “We condemn conduct of Assad’s army and Hizballah in Qusayr.”

Earlier, the UN said there were "reasonable grounds" to believe chemical weapons had been used at least four times in the course of the Syrian war.

In a new report, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon detailed evidence of "sickening and staggering" Syrian war atrocities – massacres, sieges and violations of children's rights. Children have been taken hostage, forced to watch torture and even participate in beheadings, says the report.