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UNITED NATIONS. — The United Nations Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Joint Mission announced on Monday that Syria has removed all of its declared chemical arsenal from its territory. “The Joint Mission welcomes the removal of the remaining 7.2 percent of chemical weapons material from the Syrian Arab Republic, “ the international team of experts overseeing the elimination of chemical weapons program in Syria said in a press release.
“With this last movement, the total of declared chemical weapons materials destroyed or removed from Syria has reached 100 percent,” said the Joint Mission.
“The most operationally challenging task within the effort to eliminate the Syrian chemical weapons program has come to an end.”
The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution in September last year to rid the war-torn Middle East country of its chemical weapons.
Under the resolution, the OPCW was mandated to oversee the elimination of Syria’s chemical weapons materials.
The removal of the most critical material for destruction began in early January. As per the decisions taken by the Security Council and the OPCW Executive Council, the full arsenal of Syria’s chemical weapons should be destroyed by June 30, 2014.
The focus in recent weeks had been on the removal of the remaining 7.2 percent of the declared chemical weapons material which had been difficult owing to volatile security conditions.
On Monday, the Joint Mission also stated that, in addition to the completion of the removal operation, Syria has destroyed all declared production, mixing and filling equipment and munitions, as well as many buildings associated with its declared chemical weapons programme. — Xinhua.
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