Force an option in Syria: France

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has raised the possibility of the use of force in Syria if it is proven that Bashir Assad’s regime used chemical weapons.

Fabius made the remark on Thursday, a day after the UN Security Council called for “a thorough, impartial and prompt investigation” of the latest allegation of chemical weapons use in Syria, outside Damascus. Opposition forces and activists say at least 136 people, including many children, were killed.

Fabius says if the allegations are proven, “we need a reaction by the international community .... a reaction of (military) force.”

He excluded boots on the ground as an option, “but a reaction that can take a form, I don’t want to be more precise, of force.”