The Secretary-General is deeply disturbed by the reports of alleged use of chemical weapons in an airstrike in the Khan Shaykhun area of southern Idlib, Syria. The Secretary-General expresses his heartfelt condolences to victims of the incident and their families.

The United Nations is not currently in a position to independently verify these reports. The OPCW Fact Finding Mission has announced that it has begun gathering information to attempt to confirm if chemical weapons were used.

The Secretary-General recalls that the Security Council previously determined that the use of chemical weapons anywhere constitutes a threat to international peace and security and, that it affirmed that the use of chemical weapons constitutes a serious violation of international law.
 
Stéphane Dujarric
Spokesman for the Secretary-General
New York, 4 April 2017