Syria announces the start of destroying chemical weapons dating back to the Assad era
Syria informed the UN Security Council on Thursday that it had begun destroying chemical weapons inherited from the ousted President Bashar al-Assad, marking the first such step since the conflict began.
Damascus’s UN representative, Ibrahim Al-Ali, said, “This is the first destruction operation since we were liberated from the former regime.”
He added, “It is also the first of its kind to destroy chemical weapons on Syrian soil in over a decade.”
In 2021, the Hague-based Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) took an unprecedented decision to strip Syria of its voting rights after concluding that the Syrian Air Force had used sarin gas and chlorine gas against civilians.
However, the new authorities in Damascus have pledged to cooperate with the OPCW to destroy the chemical weapons that the former president has long been accused of using during the conflict.
Izumi Nakamitsu, head of the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs, said that a UN OPCW team “verified last month the final destruction of 42 aerial bombs” by the Syrian authorities.
She added, “This significant development means that, for the first time since 2014, the OPCW has verified the destruction of chemical munitions in Syria.”
Al-Ali emphasized that “our goal is to protect the Syrian people so that these weapons do not fall into the wrong hands,” considering that Syria is also providing “protection for the world and the region… Every secured site and every identified munition not only reduces the risk for Syria but for the entire world.”
In 2013, Syria agreed to join the OPCW and disclose and hand over its stockpile of toxic substances, under Russian and American pressure and to avoid threats from Washington and its allies of launching airstrikes.
This came after the Syrian army was accused of using chemical weapons in areas controlled by opposition factions, resulting in more than 1,400 deaths, according to US intelligence agencies and human rights organizations. A UN report pointed to irrefutable evidence of sarin gas use.
The Syrian government during the Assad era denied involvement in any such attacks and agreed to hand over its chemical weapons arsenal. However, the authorities did not fully disclose their program and sought to mislead inspectors.
At the Security Council, the United States urged the new Syrian authorities to continue cooperating with the OPCW.
US Ambassador Tammy Bruce said, “Our work to eliminate the Assad regime’s chemical weapons program and enhance accountability is not only essential for international peace and security, but also a way to honor the Syrian men, women, and children whose lives were taken.”
She continued, “Let their memory drive us forward in our work for a Syria and a world free of chemical weapons.”
China and Russia also praised Syria’s progress in destroying materials related to chemical weapons.
This announcement regarding chemical weapons came about two weeks after Damascus announced that it had allowed a delegation from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to inspect an undeclared site from the former regime, which IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said contained “a few tons” of nuclear material.
