Chemical Weapons Inspectors Need Cooperation from Syrian Rebels
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iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Inspectors for the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons are facing a new snag in their efforts to eliminate Syria’s stockpiles of deadly toxins.
The problem is getting to chemical weapons sites in areas where rebel forces hold sway.
Since the beginning of October, inspectors for the OPCW have visited five of the 20 sites where some of the estimated 1,000 tons of sarin, mustard and VX nerve gas were produced.
OPCW Director General Ahmet Uzumcu contends that President Bashar al-Assad’s government has been cooperative in allowing his group to dismantle the sites. However, inspectors are now having “access problems” in getting to some locations.
One Western diplomat, familiar with the situation, said on Monday, “The international community also expects full cooperation from the opposition” on sites inside rebel-held territory.
Uzumcu called the problem “challenging,” given that they are trying to complete phase one of their mission: dismantling the production sites by the end of October.
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