Sarin or Similar Substance Found in Test Results From Khan Sheikhoun

Sarin gas or a similar agent was used in a suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria earlier this month, according to “incontrovertible” test results from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), BBC News reported.

Four OPCW laboratories analyzed samples from 10 victims from the attack on the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhoun that left more than 80 people dead.

“The results of these analyses from four OPCW-designated laboratories indicate exposure to Sarin or a Sarin-like substance. While further details of the laboratory analyses will follow, the analytical results already obtained are incontrovertible,” said Ahmet Uzumcu, head of the OPCW.

The Syrian military has denied using chemical weapons, and its Russian ally has claimed the Syrian airstrike on Khan Sheikhoun targeted a rebel warehouse of chemical munitions.

The OPCW fact-finding team said it will continue to conduct interviews and analyze samples, Uzumcu said. It would also deploy to the town if the security situation allows them to do so.

Syrian Government Moves Aircraft to Base Used by Russians

The Syrian government has moved its aircraft from a base bombed by the U.S. two weeks ago to a Russian base in the coastal city of Latakia, ABC News reported.

Lodging next to Russian jets is a tactical move, a U.S. official told ABC, to protect Syria’s aircraft from potential U.S. airstrikes.

The U.S. launched 59 cruise missiles on the Syrian government’s Shayrat Airbase two weeks ago, following the suspected toxic gas attack on a rebel-held town that killed more than 80 people. The April 7 U.S. airstrikes destroyed nearly 20 percent of Syria’s functional aircraft, according to U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis.

Russia, a key ally of the Syrian government, said it would stop engaging in a hotline with the U.S. military used to “deconflict,” or to make efforts to avoid collisions in Syrian airspace.

“We are deconflicting with the Russians … and we will continue to deconflict,” Mattis said on Tuesday, insisting Moscow and Washington were still in touch.

Evacuations Resume Following 24-Hour Delay

The reciprocal evacuation of 3,300 civilians and pro- and anti-regime fighters from four besieged villages in Syria – two in government-held territories; two in rebel-held enclaves – has resumed following a 24-hour delay, according to a report by Al Jazeera, citing the U.K.-based monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

The convoy of buses containing 3,000 evacuees, a mix of pro-regime fighters and residents from government-held Foua and Kefraya, was halted near the rebel-held transit point of Rashidin on the outskirts of Aleppo yesterday, due to heightened security measures following Saturday’s deadly attack on a previous convoy.

“The process has resumed with 3,000 people leaving Foua and Kefraya at dawn, and nearly 300 leaving Zabadani and two other rebel-held areas,” SOHR’s Rami Abdel Rahman told the AFP news agency.

RECOMMENDED READS:

• Reuters: Russia’s Undeclared Death Toll in Syria Battle Creeps Higher
• The Associated Press: After U.S. Strikes, Trump’s Syria Plan Starts Coming Into View
• Quartz: The War in Syria Has Been Great for North Korea
• The Intercept: U.S. Bombed a Mosque in Syria, Killing Dozens of Civilians, Investigators Conclude
• European Council on Foreign Relations: Time to Play the Money Card in Syria