AMSTERDAM, Netherlands: Syria's new leadership has found parts of former President Bashar al-Assad's secret chemical weapons program. These include raw materials and weapons similar to those used in deadly gas attacks during the civil war, a Syrian official told Reuters.
Authorities have also arrested 18 people suspected of being involved in the program. They include senior military, political, and technical officials, according to Syria's representative to the global chemical weapons watchdog. Their names have not been released because the investigation is still ongoing. Some of them were former major generals, and at least four are already under sanctions by Europe, the UK, or the United States.
Syria, now rebuilding after 14 years of war and moving closer to Western countries, has promised to work with the international community to eliminate remaining weapons of mass destruction.
Inspectors have visited several undeclared sites in different parts of the country. They found dozens of hidden chemical weapons, including bombs, rockets, chemicals, and equipment.
Syrian teams working with international inspectors discovered more than 70 rockets and bombs, along with materials used to make sarin gas, a deadly nerve agent. This gas was used in past attacks that killed over 1,300 people. They also found equipment for mixing and storing chemicals and substances used to stabilize sarin.
Officials said this discovery is important because the weapons were found before they could be used again. Securing these materials helps improve both national and global safety.
Previous investigations by international groups had already confirmed that Assad's forces used chemical weapons like sarin, chlorine, and mustard gas many times. Around 100 suspected sites across Syria still need to be checked.
Although Syria agreed in 2013 to destroy its chemical weapons and declared a large stockpile, banned weapons were still used afterward, and the full size of the remaining program is still unknown.
In March, Syria started a new plan, supported by the United States, to remove its remaining chemical weapons completely.
