September 20, 2013

Syria has begun reporting details of its stockpile of chemical weapons as part of a U.S.-Russia brokered deal, confirms the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), a watchdog group based in The Hague, Netherlands. OPCW officials add that while more details from Syria are expected in the coming days, Syria is obviously going to miss its September 21 deadline to provide a full list of its chemical arms.

The deal–a framework for a plan to secure and destroy Syria’s stock of chemical weapons by mid-2014–was brokered on September 14 by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. It specified that Syria had until September 21 to submit a “comprehensive listing, including names, types, and quantities of its chemical weapons agents . . .”  Among other provisions, Syria must also give United Nations inspectors, scheduled to be on the ground by November, “immediate and unfettered” access to all chemical weapons storage, production, research, and development sites.

A United Nations inspector examines dismantled equipment used during the 1980′s and 1990′s in Iraq’s chemical weapons program. (Reuters/Getty Images)

The deal put on hold the threat of a U.S. military strike against Syria for allegedly using chemical agents in an attack on Aug. 21, 2013. The attack left more than 1,400 Syrians dead, including hundreds of children. In a nationally televised address, President Barack Obama argued that the United States had a moral obligation to consider a military strike against Syria for the alleged chemical attack. “Our ideals and principles, as well as our national security, are at stake in Syria,” the president declared.

Additional World Book articles:

• Arab Spring
• The Middle East: From Fall to Spring (a special report)
• Syria: The Roots of Rebellion (a special report)
• Syria 2011 (a Back in Time article)
• Syria 2012 (a Back in Time article)

August 21, 2013

Syrian opposition activists have accused the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad of launching rockets with toxic chemical weapons into suburbs east of Damascus this morning as part of a major bombardment on rebel forces. The main opposition alliance claims that more than 1,000 people were killed in the attacks. Amateur videos downloaded onto the Internet show people going into convulsions. Dozens of bodies, including those of small children, are shown laid out on the floor of a clinic with no visible signs of injuries.

While the claims have not been independently confirmed, a doctor treating the injured did inform a BBC correspondent that the cause of death appears to be suffocation, with signs of foaming at the mouth. “There are some kinds of symptoms that tell us that this is phosphorus, which is a chemical weapon. It may be sarin, most probably it’s sarin,” noted the doctor, Ghazwan Bwidany.

A Syrian army spokesperson denied the accusations. He accused the opposition of inventing the story in an attempt to divert attention from the huge losses rebel forces had suffered recently.

A United Nations weapons inspector. (Reuters/Getty Images)

British Foreign Secretary William Hague and French President Francois Hollande have asked that United Nations (UN) weapons inspectors be allowed access to the area. Both Hague and Hollande stated that their respective UN ambassadors would raise the issue of chemical weapon use in the Syrian Civil War in the Security Council. The Security Council responded by scheduling an emergency meeting today.

Additional World Book articles:

• Syria: The Roots of Rebellion (a special report)
• The Middle East: From Fall to Spring (a special report)
• Syria 2011 (a Back in Time article)
• Syria 2012 (a Back in Time article)