International mission begins destroying Syrian chemical weapons
Experts yesterday began the process of destroying Syria's chemical weapons arsenal under the terms of a UN resolution that will see Damascus relinquish its banned weapons, an official said.
Experts yesterday began the process of destroying Syria's chemical weapons arsenal under the terms of a UN resolution that will see Damascus relinquish its banned weapons, an official said.
The source in the international mission said the experts would verify details of the arsenal turned over by the Syrian government and start the process of destroying the weapons and production facilities.
The team faces the massive task of destroying an estimated 1,000 tonnes of the nerve agent sarin, mustard gas and other banned arms at dozens of sites in Syria by mid-2014 in line with the UN resolution.
As the operation got underway, President Bashar al-Assad admitted in an interview with Germany's news magazine that his government made "mistakes" in the country's brutal civil conflict.
"Personal mistakes by individuals happened. We all make mistakes. Even a president makes mistakes," he added, insisting however "our fundamental decisions were right."
He also denied again that his forces used chemical weapons in an August 21 attack that eventually led to the UN resolution requiring Syria to turn over its arsenal of chemical weapons.
