Syria cleared by chemical weapons watchdog

 

TT-AFP

 

Published 17:02

  

People in front of destroyed buildings in Douma in April 2018 where the Syrian air force carried out a chlorine gas attack. Photo: Hassan Ammar/AP/TT

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is restoring Syria's membership after progress was made in dismantling the country's chemical weapons stockpile.

The OPCW removed Syria's voting rights in 2021 after it was determined that the regime was behind sarin and chlorine gas attacks on the country's population during the civil war.

But since the fall of former dictator Bashar al-Assad's regime in 2024, "concrete progress" has been made, according to the OPCW.

The new regime, led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa, has promised to cooperate with the OPCW and destroy the remaining chemical weapons stockpiles.

Syria agreed to hand over its chemical weapons stockpiles in 2013 after pressure from the US and Russia. However, the regime did not fully disclose and tried to mislead OPCW inspectors.