Top EU diplomat says after Syria gas attack: Assad has "primary responsibility"

A man breathes through an oxygen mask as another one receives treatments, 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

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union's top diplomat Federica Mogherini said on Tuesday Syrian President Bashar al-Assad held "primary responsibility", after a suspected gas attack killed at least 58 people. "Today the news is awful. This is a dramatic reminder that the situation on the ground still continues to be dramatic in many parts of Syria," Mogherini told reporters. "Obviously there is a primary responsibility from the regime because it has the primary responsibility of protecting its people." (Reporting by Robin Emmott; Writing by Gabriela Baczynska; Editing by Alison Williams)