Syria destroys chemical arms equipment: OPCW

The announcement by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons came one day ahead of the 1 November deadline set by the Hague-based organization for Damascus to destroy or ‘render inoperable’ all chemical weapon production facilities and machinery for mixing chemicals into poison gas and filling munitions. Destruction of the equipment means that Syria can no longer produce new chemical weapons. However, Damascus still has to start destroying existing weapons and stockpiles. The country is believed to have around 1,000 metric tons of chemicals and weapons including mustard gas and the nerve agent sarin. In a statement, the OPCW said its team is ‘now satisfied that it has verified, and seen destroyed, all of Syria’s declared critical production and mixing/filling equipment.’ It added that, ‘no further inspection activities are currently planned.’

Completion of the initial stage of destruction is a significant milestone in an ambitious timeline that aims to destroy all of Damascus’ chemical weapons by mid-2014.