Chemical weapons watchdog urges probe in Syria after al-Assad toppled

The head of the international chemical weapons watchdog says he will ask Syria’s new leaders to grant investigators access to the country to work on identifying perpetrators of attacks that killed and injured thousands of people during the civil war.

Addressing a special session of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) on Thursday, Fernando Arias said his office had seen positive signals from Syria about the need to rid the country of chemical weapons but no formal request had been received.

The 41-member executive council of the OPCW met in The Hague to discuss next steps after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s sudden toppling.

Speaking before the meeting, the ambassador of the United States to the OPCW, Nicole Shampaine, said Washington viewed al-Assad’s fall as an extraordinary chance to rid Syria of chemical weapons.

“We want to finish the job, and it’s really an opportunity for Syria’s new leadership to work with the international community, work with the OPCW to get the job done once and for all,” Shampaine said.

Arias said the evolving political landscape in Syria offered an opportunity for the organisation to finally obtain clarifications on the full extent and scope of the Syrian chemical weapons programme after 11 years of inspections.

Warning of proliferation risks, he said, “Victims deserve that perpetrators that we identified be brought to justice” after the multiple use of chemical weapons during Syria’s 13-year war.