Chemical weapons inspectors in Syria for the dismantling of that country’s supplies have found themselves blocked from parts of their mission due to the ongoing violence.
Over the weekend, mortar attacks took place near the hotel where inspectors are staying and several IEDs were detonated in vehicles during visits to inspection sites.
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons says this is the first time their inspectors have been unable to complete a scheduled visit.
The OPCW is being asked for the first time in their history to destroy a chemical weapons armory while an active war is taking place within a nation. According to the group’s reports to the UN, nearly half of the 20 sites have been inspected and equipment destroyed.
The UN resolution requires the destruction of all stockpiles by the end of June 2014.
A second team of chemical weapons experts is heading to Syria to boost the efforts to destroy the country’s weapon stockpile.
Under the terms of a UN resolution all chemical weapons mixing and filling equipment in Syria must be destroyed by the beginning of November.
The head of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said the Syrian government has submitted additional information updating the original weapons disclosure. He called the actions a “constructive beginning [of] a long and difficult process.”
Members of the OPCW reported on Sunday that members of the Syrian government were using cutting torches and angle grinders to destroy warheads, aerial bombs and equipment that could mix chemical weapons.
International monitors reported over the weekend that destruction of chemical weapons in Syria is underway.
The team of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said that weapon destruction is taking place according to the terms of their United Nations mandate. The U.N. approved a joint U.S.-Russia resolution that would remove all chemical weapons from Syrian storehouses.
“The first day of destruction and disabling is over and missile warheads, aerial bombs, along with mobile and static mixing and filling units, were dealt with. Work continues tomorrow and in the next few days,” an official with OPCW reported to the BBC.
The U.N. resolution calls for the total destruction of Syria’s chemical weapon stockpiles by mid-2014.
The Free Syrian Army, who have been fighting to overthrow the al-Assad government, is claiming that the Syrian regime has moved most of their chemical stockpile to their associates in the terrorist group Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Meanwhile, Syrian President Bashir al-Assad reportedly told Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine he would welcome German negotiators in an attempt to end the 30-month-old civil war.
A team of international chemical weapon disarmament experts has arrived in Syria to begin their work on removing the country’s chemical weapon stockpile.
The mission was set up after a joint U.S.-Russia deal supported by the UN.
The experts with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons are tasked to destroy chemical weapons during an active war for the first time. Syria’s foreign minister said that seven of the 19 sites that contain chemical weapons are in active combat areas.
The BBC is reporting that truces between the government and local militia will likely be necessary to reach the seven locations.
The country is believed to possess more than 1,000 tons of chemical weapons. While not confirmed, Syria is believed to also have the extremely deadly VX nerve agent.
UN chemical weapon inspectors are going to be returning to Syria on Wednesday according to statements from the Russian government.
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told news outlets the investigators would focus on chemical weapons attacks at Khan al-Assal, Sheikh Maqsoud and Saraqueb. The locations were the initial destinations of the inspectors until the attack on a Damascus suburb August 21st that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of civilians. Continue reading →
The United Nations confirmed on Thursday they have received the necessary paperwork from the Syrian government to become a part of the Chemical Weapons Convention. The CWC outlaws production and use of chemical weapons.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad told Russian TV that his administration would be submitting weapons data within one month of signing the papers to join the CWC. Continue reading →
The U.N. inspection team has reportedly collected a “wealth” of evidence regarding the use of chemical weapons by the government of Bashir al-Assad…but will not actually make a direct accusation against it.
Three U.N. diplomats connected to the investigation have told Foreign Policy magazine the team will present a very strong circumstantial case pointing strongly in the direction of the Syrian government. Continue reading →
Russia’s plan to have Syria surrender all chemical weapons is causing problems at the United Nations as multiple countries demand specific dates for the handoff.
The U.K., U.S. and France are demanding a timetable and consequences for that timetable not being met by Syria. American officials said they will “not fall for stalling tactics.” Continue reading →
Russia surprised the international community by announcing Monday they would push for Syria to surrender their chemical weapons to an international group and then quickly dismantle them in an attempt to stave off a U.S. missile strike.
The announcement came hours after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry had said Syrian President Assad could resolve the crisis by surrendering the weapons. Kerry also said he believed Assad “isn’t about to do it.” Continue reading →
While Great Britain withdraws from action against Syria after a vote in their parliament and President Obama defers a decision on action to Congress, France has come out declaring boldly that the Syrian government is behind the chemical weapons attack that led to hundreds of deaths.
France is pushing for military action to punish the Assad regime for killing civilians with chemical weapons. Continue reading →