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22 sites out of 23 verified in Syria

(credit: OPCW)
(credit: OPCW)

(BRUSSELS2) The 22nd chemical weapons site has just been verified, announces the Joint Mission in Syria of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the UN. This is in the Aleppo region, and was one of two sites that could not be inspected for security reasons. " Its verification was carried out using protected cameras, operated by Syrian personnel under the control of the inspection team. The precise geographical position of the site, the time of recording of the images, as well as the latter have been completely authenticated. says the OPCW. " According to Syria's statements, the site had indeed been dismantled and long abandoned, its empty building showing significant signs of damage from fighting. »

All facilities inoperable

At the end of October, the Joint Mission announced that it had " completed the inspection of all chemical weapons production and assembly/filling facilities declared by Syria” and attested that “all of these facilities have been rendered inoperable”. 21 of the 23 sites declared by Syria, and 39 of the 41 installations on these sites had been inspected in this way. Only two sites could not be visited " For safety reasons ". But Syria had “advises that these sites had been abandoned, the elements of the chemical weapons program they housed having been transferred to other sites which were indeed inspected”.

According to the decision taken at the Executive Council of the OPCW, Syria should carry out the functional destruction of its sites " as soon as possible and no later than 1 November 2013 ».

Nicolas Gros Verheyde

Chief editor of the B2 site. Graduated in European law from the University of Paris I Pantheon Sorbonne and listener to the 65th session of the IHEDN (Institut des Hautes Etudes de la Défense Nationale. Journalist since 1989, founded B2 - Bruxelles2 in 2008. EU/NATO correspondent in Brussels for Sud-Ouest (previously West-France and France-Soir).

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