Syria's chemical weapons equipment 'completely destroyed'

OPCW has confirmed that Syria’s declared chemical weapon equipment has been destroyed.

12:44 31 October 2013

A day before the deadline set by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), news emerged that Syria’s chemical weapons equipment has been completely destroyed.

Jerry Smith, the head of OPCW, told BBC: "We have personally observed all the destruction activities.”

"They are not now in a position to conduct any further production or mixing of chemical weapons."

In a statement, OPCW said that they have inspected 21 of the 23 chemical weapon sites in Syria. The other two were too dangerous to visit but the equipment was moved to some of the other sites.

The Syrian government was accused of using chemical weapons to kill hundreds of civilians. However, the government denied the accusations saying that the rebels were the ones to be blamed. Russia and the US made an agreement to destroy Syria’s chemical weapons after Washington threatened to use force against Syria.

Now that the equipment is totally destroyed, Syria must destroy the chemical weapons by themselves by mid-2015. Its arsenal is believed to include more than 1,000 tonnes of the nerve gas sarin, the blister agent sulphur mustard, and other banned chemicals, stored at dozens of sites.