French President Emmanuel Macron said France has "proof" that the Syrian government attacked the town of Douma with chemical weapons last week in Douma, but added that he would decide whether to intervene once all the necessary information had been gathered.
"We have proof that last week... chemical weapons were used, at least chlorine, and that they were used by the regime of Bashar al-Assad," Macron said during a television interview.
Macron said French and U.S. officials were "working together very closely, and we will have decisions to take, at the time we choose, when we consider it most useful and most effective."
However, US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told Congress on Thursday that the US military does not have evidence that either chlorine or sarin were used in an alleged chemical attack in the Syrian town of Douma, adding that the Pentagon's only proof that such an incident occurred has come from social media and media reports.
Reports about the alleged attack in Duma, located in the Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta, emerged on Saturday. The European Union and the United States have rushed to blame the forces of the Syrian government for the incident, however, Damascus has refuted the allegations. The Syrian government invited the global chemical watchdog to visit the terrorist-held Syrian town of Douma to probe an alleged poison gas attack.
