France Issues Arrest Warrant for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad

France has issued an international arrest warrant for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad accused of complicity in crimes against humanity and war crimes over chemical attacks in 2013, plaintiffs in the case said Wednesday.

In one of the more than decade-long conflict's many horrors, sarin gas attacks saw more than 1,400 people suffocate to death near Damascus in August 2013.

The organisations that filed a legal complaint hailed the move, saying it was the first time a sitting head of state had become the subject of an arrest warrant in another country for war crimes and crimes against humanity.