- #assad regime was behind Khan Sheikhoun sarin gas attack, UN says

- #assad regime forces have used chemical weapons 27 times during the Syrian conflict, including in the deadly attack that led to US administration to carry missiles strikes on air base in Homs, #UN war crimes investigators said.

The UN Commission of Inquiry on #Syria said a government warplane dropped sarin on #Khan_Sheikhoun in Idlib province in April, the attack led to the killing of more than 80 civilians.

"Government forces continued the pattern of using chemical weapons against civilians in opposition-held areas. In the gravest incident, the #assad air force used sarin gas in Khan Sheikhoun, Idleb, killing dozens, the majority of whom were women and children," the report said on Wednesday, declaring it a war crime.

The attack was previously identified as containing sarin. But that conclusion, reached by a fact-finding mission of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), did not say who carried it out.

In all, UN investigators said they had documented 33 chemical weapons attacks in Syria to date.

Twenty-seven were by forces of the regime, including seven between 1 March and 7 July. Perpetrators had not been identified yet in six early attacks, they said.

The regime has repeatedly denied using chemical weapons. It said that its strikes in Khan Sheikhoun hit a weapons depot belonging to rebel forces, a claim dismissed by the UN investigators however.