Syria Opposition Condemns Any Use of Chemical Weapons

The Syrian opposition National Coalition on Monday condemned any use of chemical weapons in the country's conflict and said only the regime had such capabilities.

The statement came after a U.N. investigator said there was evidence that Syrian opposition forces had used the deadly nerve agent sarin.

"The Coalition condemns all use of chemical weapons, whoever uses them and it will pursue its investigation and collect evidence on this issue to present to the international commission of inquiry," the umbrella grouping said in a statement.

"If the inquiry proves that any party other than the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons, the Coalition will take all legal and appropriate measures whoever the party is and whatever the reason or motive for the usage might be," the statement added.

Earlier Monday, U.N. rights investigator Carla del Ponte said there was evidence that rebel forces had used sarin.

But her team later said there was no "conclusive" proof that those allegations were true.

The Coalition said the regime of President Bashar Assad "is the only party with the necessary technology to produce chemical weapons.

"It is the only one with the means to stock, assemble, transport and use these weapons and it increasingly has the desire to do so," the statement added.

Del Ponte's commission, which was set up two years ago at the behest of the U.N. Human Rights Council, has so far been refused access to Syria.