Experts from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) discovered dozens of previously unrecognized chemical weapons in Syria. The OPCW informed about this in its report on activities in this country, AFP reported, writes TASR.
The OPCW specified that it sent to Syria at the beginning of May team to “verify the accuracy and completeness” of Damascus’ statement on its chemical weapons stockpile. He searched several “unrecognized high-priority locations” in the coastal and central regions of the country with the support of the Syrian authorities.
“Dozens of chemical weapons, including aerial bombs and missiles, as well as chemical substances and related equipment, were found at several of these sites. Thousands of pages of documents were also discovered,” the OPCW report said.
Syria joined this organization in 2013 and under pressure from Russia and the United States, agreed to admit and hand over its stockpile of toxic substances for destruction, to avoid the threat of airstrikes by the US and its allies.
However, the Hague-based OPCW believes that Damascus has not acknowledged its entire arsenal of chemical weapons, and some of it has remained classified. The chemicals and equipment found are now being analyzed by experts, while the search for other possible chemical weapons continues.
During the 13-year civil war in Syria, the deposed Syrian President Bashar Assad has been repeatedly accused of using chemical weapons against both anti-government rebels and civilians.
Since Assad’s ouster in late 2024, the fate of Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile has raised serious concerns. The foreign ministry of the new government in Damascus last year pledged to eliminate all remaining items of Assad’s chemical weapons program.
