Syria uncovers remnants of Assad-era chemical weapons programme, detains 18 suspects: Report

Syria’s transitional government has uncovered remnants of former President Bashar al-Assad’s chemical weapons programme, including raw materials and munitions similar to those used in deadly gas attacks during the country’s civil war, Reuters reported on Tuesday citing a Syrian official.

Syrian authorities have also detained 18 people allegedly linked to Assad’s chemical weapons programme, including senior military, political and technical officials, according to Mohamad Katoub, Syria’s permanent representative to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague.

Katoub said the names of the suspects had not been made public as investigations were ongoing. Several of those detained had reportedly served as major generals under the Assad government, while at least four were already under US, UK or European sanctions.

Syria’s new leadership, which has sought closer ties with Western countries after emerging from the 14-year civil war, has pledged to work with the international community to eliminate the country’s remaining chemical weapons stockpiles.

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Chemical munitions and sarin materials found

The OPCW said in a report on Tuesday that inspectors, working alongside Syrian authorities, had visited several previously undeclared high-priority sites in northern coastal and central Syria.

According to the organisation, investigators discovered “dozens of undeclared chemical munitions such as aerial bombs and rockets, as well as separately found chemicals and related equipment”.

Katoub said Syrian teams working with OPCW inspectors had recovered more than 70 rockets and aerial bombs, along with raw materials used in the production of sarin, a nerve agent used in attacks blamed on Assad’s forces.

The materials recovered were reportedly linked to sarin attacks in Ghouta in August 2013 and Al-Lataminah in March 2017. The Ghouta attack alone killed more than 1,300 people.

Investigators also found chemical mixing and storage equipment, along with hexamine — a stabilising agent previously identified in sarin production by Assad’s forces — at three separate sites.

“Despite the secrecy, the danger, and the immense security challenges, today we delivered for the Syrian people and for the world,” Katoub said.

“It is the first time such munitions could be recovered before they were used in crimes against the Syrian people,” he added.

International effort to dismantle programme

Katoub said securing and storing the recovered materials would contribute to both national and global security.

Previous joint investigations by the United Nations and the OPCW concluded that the Assad government repeatedly used sarin, chlorine and sulfur mustard gas during the conflict.

The OPCW estimates that as many as 100 sites across Syria may still require inspection.

Syria joined the Chemical Weapons Convention in 2013 and declared a stockpile of around 1,300 tonnes of chemical agents. However, allegations of chemical weapons use continued even after the declaration, leaving uncertainty over the full extent of the programme.

In March, Syria launched a new plan, backed by Washington, to eliminate the country’s remaining chemical weapons infrastructure.