Syria meets key chemical weapon deadline

By C. J. Refsland on October 31, 2013 • ( 2 )

Billboard with portrait of Assad and the text God protects Syria on the old city wall of Damascus 2006 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

My Comment: So let’s see, they have destroyed the factories to manufacture chemical weapons, but their stockpiles of the same remain? So this is safer how? And who has control of these stockpiles? We know from recent past that rebels had control of some of these stockpiles, Assad is cooperating, but is the world safer? How much was moved to other places like Lebanon? There are still many unanswered questions. Questions that the world needs to ask.

BEIRUT — Syria has destroyed all of its declared chemical weapons production and mixing facilities, meeting a major deadline in an ambitious disarmament program, the international chemical weapons watchdog said in a document seen by Reuters.

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said in the document its teams had inspected 21 out of 23 chemical weapons sites across the country. The other two were too dangerous to inspect but the chemical equipment had already been moved to other sites which experts had visited, it said.

“The OPCW is satisfied it has verified, and seen destroyed, all declared critical production/mixing/filling equipment from all 23 sites,” the document said.

Related: Syria has filed chemical weapon details

Under a Russian-American brokered deal, Damascus agreed to destroy all its chemical weapons after Washington threatened to use force in response to the killing of hundreds of people in a sarin attack on the outskirts of Damascus on August 21.

The United States and its allies blamed Assad’s forces for the attack and several earlier incidents. The Syrian president has rejected the charge, blaming rebel brigades.

Under the disarmament timetable, Syria was due to render unusable all production and chemical weapons filling facilities by November 1 — a target it has now met. By mid-2014 it must have destroyed its entire stockpile of chemical weapons.

Syria meets key chemical weapon deadline