Syria begins destroying al-Assad-era chemical weapons materials

Syria has begun ‌destroying the remnants of a clandestine chemical weapons programme created under former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Syrian and United Nations authorities have stated.

Key points

• "This is the very first destruction process since we have been liberated from the previous regime, " Syria's UN envoy Ibrahim Olabi additionally informed the briefing.
• Syrian authorities earlier this year took 18 suspects into custody for alleged involvement in al-Assad's chemical weapons programme, including high-level military, political and technical authorities.
• Syria's new leadership had located ⁠remnants of al-Assad's chemical weapons programme in May.
• Nakamitsu ⁠remarked the team verified "the irreversible destruction of 42 aerial bombs" ⁠as part of that mission.
• Olabi informed the council that Syria was "protecting the world and the region through such work".

This includes raw materials and munitions similar to those applied in deadly gas attacks during the country's civil war, diplomats stated at the United Nations Security Council on Thursday.

UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi ⁠Nakamitsu informed a UN Security Council briefing that for the first time since 2014, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) had verified the destruction of chemical munitions in Syria.

Syria's new leadership had located ⁠remnants of al-Assad's chemical weapons programme in May. After the finding, Syria had ‌identified "one additional chemical weapons production facility, a newly discovered chemical used in the production of nerve agents, and empty chemical munitions", Nakamitsu noted.

"It also declared two chemical weapons storage facilities where the newly discovered facilities were being stored, " she continued.

Last month, the OPCW deployed a team to Syria to verify the destruction of "category-three" chemical weapons, defined as unfilled munitions and other equipment applied to release chemical weapons. Nakamitsu ⁠remarked the team verified "the irreversible destruction of 42 aerial bombs" ⁠as part of that mission.

"This is the very first destruction process since we have been liberated from the previous regime, " Syria's UN envoy Ibrahim Olabi additionally informed the briefing. "It's also the first of its kind to destroy chemical materials on Syrian territory for over a decade."

Olabi informed the council that Syria was "protecting the world and the region through such work". Nevertheless, he went on that repeated Israeli attacks had ⁠impeded some search-and-destruction operations and exposed the Syrian teams at work to risk.

"We cannot safeguard the security of ⁠the region if our security is exposed to attacks ⁠at the hands of Israel, and they are flouting the security of the region at large and they are breaching the conventions and treaties we have talked about, " he continued.

Olabi remarked Syria was preparing to hold the first court hearing of residents suspected of involvement ‌in ‌the chemical weapons programme.

In short, syria begins destroying al-Assad is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.