UN, OPCW team complete Syria CW destruction

The international mission to eliminate Syria’s chemical stockpile has wrapped up its operations in the war-torn country, the United Nations says.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Wednesday that the joint mission of the UN and the Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has successfully completed its destruction operations after almost a year.

“From this point on, the OPCW will continue to deal with the destruction of chemical weapon production facilities and clarification of certain aspects of Syria’s initial declaration,” Dujarric said.

The UN Security Council adopted a resolution in September last year to rid the war-torn country of its chemical arms. Under the resolution, the OPCW was mandated to oversee the elimination of Syria’s stockpile.

On September 14, 2013, Russia and the United States agreed on a deal under which Syria would have its chemical weapons eliminated and the US would in return not carry out planned strikes on the Arab country.

The war rhetoric against Syria intensified after foreign-backed opposition forces accused the government of President Bashar al-Assad of launching a chemical attack on militant strongholds in the suburbs of the capital Damascus on August 21 last year.

Damascus has vehemently denied the accusations, saying the attack was carried out by the militants themselves as a false-flag operation.

Syria has been gripped by deadly violence since 2011. The Western powers and their regional allies – especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey – are reportedly supporting the militants operating inside Syria.

Foreign-backed militant groups have inflicted major humanitarian and material damage on Syria in over three years of turmoil in the country during which more than 191,000 people have been killed and millions displaced.