Syria may still have hidden

chemical weapons, OPCW admits

The head of the global chemical weapons watchdog tells Channel 4 News it is an
"open question" if hidden chemical weapons remain in Syria, two days after the
last shipment was supposed to have left.
!"N!S"#$ %& '(N! %)*4
#hmet (+umcu, director general of the Organisation for the Prohibition of
Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said more clarification was needed before he could
pronounce Syria chemical,weapons free.
-owever, he said that if new, conclusive evidence emerged of chemical weapons
attac.s within the country, the /0C would respond swiftly and the consequences
would be "severe".
-e also said he believed it was unli.ely that any chemical weapons were in the
hands of the more e1treme fringes of the Syrian opposition or 2ihadist groups in the
region li.e the 3slamic State of 3raq and al,Sham (Isis).
-e told Channel 4 News4 "5egarding Syrian chemical weapons, whether there are
some hidden assets in certain locations in Syria , this is clearly an open question.
#nd at the moment the /0C is addressing some questions based on the Syrian
declaration and we want to clarify certain aspects."
hether there are some hidden assets in certain locations in Syria , this is
clearly an open question.Ahmet !"mc"# OPCW
/n 6onday this wee., the /0C said that the last shipment of dangerous chemicals
which had been declared by the Syrian regime had left Syria, on the way to eventual
destruction on board a (S ship. Several deadlines for destruction have already been
missed but #mbassador (+umcu said this process was due to begin ne1t wee..
-owever, whether this means all chemical weapons are gone from Syria is a different
matter , because that depends on whether Presi$ent %ashar al&Assa$ declared all
of the weapons his regime has stoc.piled.
Spea.ing in Copenhagen, #mbassador (+umcu said4 "The Syrians have been quite
cooperative in the process. e don7t .now how long it is going to ta.e but our goal is
to give the necessary assurances to the membership as well as the international
community that the Syrians have declared all the chemical weapons they possessed."
7Systematic7 chemical attac.s
The OPCW itself sai$ '"st last wee( that chemical attac(s were still
)systematic) in Syria# including with chlorine gas. Chlorine was not on the list of
to1ic agents the /0C ordered #ssad to hand over, although it is banned by the
organisation.
#mbassador (+umcu said if more evidence emerges of chemical attac.s after the
supposedly final shipment of declared weapons left the country, it would be a
serious situation.
"3f there are some uses of chemical weapons in Syria, we could send our teams of
inspectors... and we would be able to say whether these allegations were true or
not and , if the perpetrators of the attac. could be identified , the consequences
would be severe."
Syria agree$ to han$ o*er its chemical weapons last year after international
pressure, including the threat of (S air stri.es, after horrific e*i$ence emerge$
of a go*ernment chemical attac( on the e$ges of +amasc"s which (ille$
aro"n$ ,#-.. people & as well as other similar attac(s.
8oth sides in the Syrian conflict have accused the other of using chemical weapons.
8ut #mbassador (+umcu suggested it was unli.ely that the opposition had the
capability for such attac.s at this point.
"hether some groups do possess or have access to chemical substances, or could
produce weapons , clearly, at a small scale some groups could produce small
quantities, but large,scale production is required with well,equipped facilities,
therefore 3 don7t thin. that it is possible," he said.
"The Syrian authorities did not inform us about any access or sei+ure of their
stoc.piles by individual groups or factions."
9ears about the potential use of chemical weapons in Ira/ have also been raised in
recent days, afterIsis too( o*er one of Sa$$am 0"ssein1s former chemical
weapons comple2es , although most of the chemicals in the facility are believed
to either be inaccessible or redundant.
#mbassador (+umcu added4 "e don7t have any evidence from other sources too
about the possession of chemical weapons by armed groups in Syria or 3raq."