Watch FIFA World Cup 2026™

LIVE, FREE and EXCLUSIVE

Syria chemical handover nearly complete

The joint team overseeing the destruction of Syria's chemical weapon stockpile says 92.5 per cent of the arms have been removed.

Syria
A UN task team says they have nearly accounted for all of Syria's chemical weapons stockpile. (AAP)

Syria has nearly completed surrendering its chemical weapons stockpile, as UN Security Council members called for a fresh probe into alleged gas attacks.

"Today's operation brings the total of chemical material removed and destroyed to 92.5 per cent," the combined Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons-UN task team said in a statement on Thursday.

Damascus had pledged to have all of its stockpile removed from the war-ravaged country by Sunday.

The weapons are then due to be destroyed by June 30.

The consignment of chemicals were delivered to the main Syrian port of Latakia, from where it will be removed by cargo ships for delivery to the US Navy vessel Cape Ray for destruction.

News that makes sense

Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Syrian authorities also "destroyed buildings, equipment and empty mustard gas containers", the OPCW-UN statement said.

"A majority of (storage and productions) sites are now closed," the joint mission said.

"I welcome the significant progress of the last three weeks and I strongly encourage the Syrian authorities to conclude removal operations as part of their efforts to achieve the June 30 deadline," the mission's chief Sigrid Kaag said.

In New York, Security Council members on Wednesday called for new claims of a chlorine gas attack in a rebel bastion in Syria to be probed after Kaag briefed them behind closed doors.

Joy Ogwu, Nigeria ambassador who holds the rotating presidency, said members "expressed concern about alleged reports about the use of chlorine gas in some of the towns, which left people dead and injured, and called for an investigation into this incident".

France and the US allege that President Bashar al-Assad's forces may have unleashed industrial chemicals on a rebel-held village in central Hama province earlier this month.

There have been conflicting accounts of the alleged chlorine attack on Kafr Zita, with the government and the opposition trading blame.


2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News straight to your inbox

Sign up now for daily news from Australia and around the world. You can also subscribe to Insight's weekly newsletter for in-depth features and first-person stories.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Follow SBS News

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service

Stream now

Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world