NEW YORK, March 18 – Syria’s new leadership announced Wednesday the launch of a comprehensive initiative to locate and destroy chemical weapons remaining from Bashar al-Assad’s regime, with backing from the United States and international allies.
Assad’s government operated an extensive chemical weapons program for many years, deploying these banned substances against Syrian civilians throughout the nation’s prolonged civil conflict, resulting in thousands of casualties.
Although Damascus became a signatory to the Chemical Weapons Convention in 2013 and reported possessing 1,300 tons of such materials, the prohibited weapons continued to be deployed, and the full scope of the program has never been determined.
According to Syria’s UN Ambassador Ibrahim Olabi, a multinational coalition including the United States, Germany, Britain, Canada, and France will work to locate all remaining components of the weapons program and eliminate them under oversight from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
Chemical weapons experts estimate that approximately 100 locations throughout Syria require examination to assess what dangerous materials still exist and determine appropriate disposal methods.
The operation will demand significant time and resources to prevent weapons of mass destruction from spreading throughout a region already experiencing conflict and instability. Officials note that ongoing tensions, including the expanding U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran and broader security issues, create uncertainty about mission timing while making the work even more critical.
Following Assad’s removal from power in December 2024, Syria’s current administration under President Ahmed al-Sharaa has committed to completely eliminating prohibited chemical weapons and providing investigators unrestricted access.
Olabi described this transformation as Syria moving from a nation that previously concealed chemical weapons usage to one now “leading the resolve” to eliminate them entirely.
Multiple international investigations determined that Assad’s forces deployed sarin nerve agent, chlorine, and sulfur mustard gas, though these probes never uncovered the complete extent of the covert program.
“We don’t know what’s remaining. It was a secret program,” Olabi explained. “The job is on Syria to basically look for these things and then declare them.”
A diplomatic source, speaking anonymously due to the matter’s sensitivity, indicated the 100 locations could include anything from military installations to research facilities or administrative offices.
“It will probably take many months if not years to get it done, and of course the current situation in the Middle East doesn’t help the process to move forward to the actual destruction of any remnants of Assad’s chemical weapons program,” the source stated.
