France says to provide proof on Syria government chemical weapons use

A civil defence member breathes through an oxygen mask, after what rescue workers described as a suspected gas attack in the town of Khan Sheikhoun in rebel-held Idlib, Syria April 4, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Abdullah

PARIS (Reuters) - French intelligence services will provide proof in the coming days that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces used chemical weapons in an attack on April 4, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said on Wednesday. "There is an investigation underway (by) the French intelligence services and military intelligence ... it's a question of days and we will provide proof that the regime carried out these strikes," Ayrault told LCP television. "We have elements that will enable us to show that the regime knowingly used chemical weapons," he said. (Reporting by John Irish; Editing by Ingrid Melander)