Since the fall of the Assad regime, the Israeli army has carried out hundreds of airstrikes on military targets in Syria. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar outlined the mission: “We want to prevent strategic weapons – including chemical warfare agents and long-range missiles – from falling into the hands of extremists who could threaten Israel and the entire region.”
There could still be “large quantities of potentially undeclared or unverified chemical warfare agents and chemical munitions” in Syria, Fernando Arias, director general of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), warned in late November and expressed “serious concern”. The Syrian authorities did not provide a complete picture: Damascus left 19 of the 26 questions the organization asked since 2014 unanswered. “I think it is quite clear that there are still chemical weapons somewhere are stored,” says researcher Lennie Phillips of the Royal United Services Institute in London.
Islamist group HTS promises to secure the weapons
The OPCW said it had contacted Syrian authorities and noted the “extreme importance” of securing the weapons. The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) militia, which led the major offensive against ruler Bashar al-Assad and eventually overthrew him, vowed to protect chemical weapons from access by “irresponsible hands.”
“We will not allow weapons of any kind to be used against civilians or to become a tool for revenge or destruction,” the militia said, according to the US organization SITE, which monitors extremism on the internet. The group agreed to “cooperate with the international community on all arms control issues.”
Assad had repeatedly used chemical weapons against his own people. The most devastating attack took place in Ghouta, near Damascus, in August 2013 and is attributed to the Assad government. According to American intelligence services, more than a thousand people were killed. In 2014, the OPCW set up a fact-finding mission. Researchers examined more than 70 cases and concluded that in 20 cases chemical weapons had been used or were likely to be used – mostly chlorine, but also sarin and mustard gas. Assad’s army also resorted to chemical weapons in 2017 and 2018. An OPCW investigative team attributed the chemical weapons attack in the town of Marea in September 2015 to Islamic State’s jihadist militia.
Syria, under pressure from Russia and the US, agreed to join the OPCW and disclose and transfer its poison gas stockpiles. In January 2016, the organization announced the complete elimination and destruction of 1,300 tons of chemical weapons reported by authorities. However, subsequent attacks showed that apparently not everything had been destroyed.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
