OPCW: Chemical weapons in Syria fully destroyed, some people in Syria were exposed to sarin gas

The Hague/New York, SANA – The UN-backed Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) declared that the chemical weapons in Syria have been fully destroyed.

OPCW spokesman Malik Ellahi said on Tuesday that 100% of chemical weapons in Syria have been destroyed, and that the last batch of them was destroyed in Texas.

Syria joined the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) officially on October 14, 2013, and the head of the OPCW-UN joint mission for the disposal of chemical weapons in Syria Sigrid Kaag had repeatedly stated that the cooperation of the Syrian government with the mission has led to the its success.

Earlier, a fact-finding mission by the OPCW affirmed that it has found that some people in Syria may have been exposed to Sarin or a Sarin-like gas.

The mission said, in a report sent to the United Nations Security Council by OPCW on 29 Dec, it was investigating 11 incidents of the use of toxic chemicals reported by the Syrian government.

“In one instance, the analysis of some blood samples indicates that individuals were at some point exposed to Sarin or a Sarin-like substance,” said the OPCW report.

“Further investigation would be necessary to determine when or under what circumstances such exposure might have occurred,” said the report.

Manr/Barry / Hazem Sabbagh