Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile raises serious concerns: Watchdog

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has raised alarms over Syria’s incomplete chemical weapons declaration, suggesting that large quantities of potentially undeclared toxic agents remain unverified.

‘…chemical weapons dossier still cannot be closed.’

This announcement comes during the OPCW’s annual meeting, highlighting unresolved issues in Syria’s chemical weapons dossier.

Director-General Fernando Arias stated that despite years of investigations, significant gaps persist. “Despite more than a decade of intensive work, the Syrian Arab Republic chemical weapons dossier still cannot be closed,” Arias told delegates, noting that 19 issues involving large quantities of chemical warfare agents and munitions remain unresolved.

Chemical weapons usage and ongoing investigations

Syria joined the OPCW in 2013 following a chemical gas attack near Damascus, suburbs of Eastern and Western Ghouta, located 16 kilometers apart, on the morning of August 21, 2013. that killed over 1,400 people.

The OPCW has since accused the Syrian government of multiple chemical attacks on civilians during the country’s civil war.

In 2021, Syria’s OPCW voting rights were suspended after allegations of poison gas attacks. A subsequent report in 2022 blamed Damascus for a 2018 chlorine attack that killed 43 people. Syrian authorities, however, deny these claims, insisting that all chemical stockpiles have been surrendered.

Syria and OPCW

“Since 2014, the (OPCW) Secretariat has reported a total of 26 outstanding issues of which seven have been fulfilled,” in relation to chemical weapon stockpiles in Syria, Arias said.

“The substance of the remaining 19 outstanding issues is of serious concern as it involves large quantities of potentially undeclared or unverified chemical warfare agents and chemical munitions,” he told delegates.

The civil war in Syria, which began in 2011, has resulted in over 500,000 deaths, millions of displacements, and widespread destruction of infrastructure.