Article

2014-04-25 Syria-Lebanon-Iran

[An Nahar] Syria has nearly completed surrendering its chemical weapons stockpile, a joint task force in charge of the operation said Thursday, as U.N. Security Council members called for a fresh probe into alleged gas attacks.

"Today's operation brings the total of chemical material removed and destroyed to 92.5 percent," the combined Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons-U.N. task team said in a statement.

Damascus had pledged to have all of its stockpile removed from the war-ravaged country by Sunday. The weapons are then due to be destroyed by June 30.

The consignment of chemicals were delivered to the main Syrian port of Latakia, from where it will be removed by cargo ships for delivery to the U.S. Navy vessel Cape Ray for destruction.

Syrian authorities also "destroyed buildings, equipment and empty mustard gas containers," the OPCW-UN statement said.

"A majority of (storage and productions) sites are now closed," the joint mission said.

"I welcome the significant progress of the last three weeks and I strongly encourage the Syrian authorities to conclude removal operations as part of their efforts to achieve the June 30 deadline," the mission's chief Sigrid Kaag said.

In New York, Security Council members on Wednesday called for new claims of a chlorine gas attack in a rebel bastion in Syria to be probed after Kaag briefed them behind closed doors.

Joy Ogwu, Nigeria ambassador who holds the rotating presidency, said members "expressed concern
...meaning the brow was mildly wrinkled, the eyebrows drawn slightly together, and a thoughtful expression assumed, not that anything was actually done or indeed that any thought was actually expended...
about alleged reports about the use of chlorine gas in some of the towns, which left people dead and injured, and called for an investigation into this incident."

La Belle France and the United States allege that

Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Horror of Homs...
's forces may have unleashed industrial chemicals on a rebel-held village in central Hama province earlier this month.

There have been conflicting accounts of the alleged chlorine attack on Kafr Zita, with the government and the opposition trading blame.

Posted by Fred 2014-04-25 00:00|| || Front Page|| [11127 views ] Top
File under: Govt of Syria

#1 And how long will it take pencilneck to recreate his CBW stockpile?

Posted by Squinty 2014-04-25 13:51|| 2014-04-25 13:51|| Front Page Top

#2 About as quickly as they can hire some Russian technical consultants.

Posted by Pappy 2014-04-25 14:51|| 2014-04-25 14:51|| Front Page Top

#3 How do we know we have it all to begin with?

Posted by Thing From Snowy Mountain 2014-04-25 14:56|| 2014-04-25 14:56|| Front Page Top

#4 You're not supposed to ask questions, Thing, just feel warm and fuzzy about Champ's fabulous success in this foreign-policy endeavor. Another feather in the cap of his legacy!

Posted by Bobby 2014-04-25 15:27|| 2014-04-25 15:27|| Front Page Top

#5 Snowy, remember that Syria's "pledge" counts as half.

Posted by Pappy 2014-04-25 15:43|| 2014-04-25 15:43|| Front Page Top

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