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U.N. Starts Destroying Syrian Chemical Weapons

U.N. Starts Destroying Syrian Chemical Weapons
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Δευ, 7 Οκτωβρίου 2013 - 18:12
International weapons inspectors began destroying Syria's chemical weapons on Sunday, overseeing Syrian government workers using torches and grinders to launch a disarmament program that put potential U.S. military intervention in Syria on hold.
International weapons inspectors began destroying Syria 's chemical weapons on Sunday, overseeing Syrian government workers using torches and grinders to launch a disarmament program that put potential U.S. military intervention in Syria on hold.

Under a deal brokered last month by the U.S. and Russia , Syria agreed to give up its chemical weapons in a process aimed at eradicating Damascus 's 1,000-metric-ton stockpile by the middle of next year.

Supervised by experts from the Hague-based Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, "Syrian personnel used cutting torches and angle grinders to destroy or disable a range of items," the OPCW and the U.N. said in a joint statement. "This included missile warheads, aerial bombs and mixing and filling equipment," they said, adding the process will continue in the coming days.

Following an Aug. 21 chemical-weapons attack in a Damascus suburb that killed hundreds of people, the U.S. threatened to strike government targets to degrade its ability to deploy chemical weapons.

A U.N. investigation confirmed that sarin gas was used in the attack. While it didn't assign blame, the U.S. and its allies contend the Syrian government was behind the massacre. Syria and its allies Russia and Iran say opposition forces were responsible for the attack in an attempt to incriminate the government and prompt U.S. intervention.

The deal to destroy Syria 's chemical arsenal instead was reached on Sept. 14. On the same day, Syria applied to join the Chemical Weapons Convention, which the OPCW oversees.

With Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov voting in the chamber, the U.N. Security Council endorsed the disarmament plan on Sept. 28, putting off enforcement action to a second resolution if either the government or opposition interfere with the stockpile's destruction.

The U.S. and Russia are scheduled on Monday to hold their first high-level talks since sealing the Syrian chemical-weapons deal, the Associated Press reported. Messrs. Kerry and Lavrov planned to meet on the sidelines of an economic summit in Indonesia to discuss Syria and an apparent warming between Iran and the West.

The OPCW's inspectors are moving into uncharted territory, having never worked to eliminate chemical weapons in a war zone before, and under such a tight deadline.

Under the Security Council decision, Syria 's ability to make chemicals weapons is supposed to be destroyed by Nov. 1. The majority of the 1,000-metric-ton stockpile consists of precursor chemicals, which can be more easily neutralized than produced chemical weapons, a senior Western diplomat said. The destruction of equipment can also disable Syria 's ability to mix the agents into lethal weapons relatively quickly, the diplomat said.

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