PARIS, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Military forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad were likely using chlorine gas in the offensive against rebel-held areas, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Wednesday.
"I'm speaking with a degree of caution because we have to be careful pending full documentation, but all the indications that we have show that at the moment chlorine is being used" by the Syrian government, Le Drian told news channel BFMTV.
Warning about "very serious situation," the French top diplomat said the United Nations opened on Tuesday an investigation into the persistent "threat of chemical weapons'use."
Recent reports said al-Assad government had used chlorine gas in the rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta, near Damascus on January.
The Syrian government has repeatedly rejected allegations of using chemical arms which it said were all handed to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons as part of 2013 accord brokered by Moscow and Washington.
Speaking about Turkish offensive against Kurdish militias in northern Syria, Le Drian said "ensuring the security of its borders does not mean killing civilians and that should be condemned."
"In a dangerous situation in Syria, (Turkey) should not add war to war," it added.
