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Inspectors Visit All but 2 of Syria’s Declared Chemical Sites

GENEVA — International inspectors have completed verification of Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal at 21 of the 23 sites identified by the government, but they have been unable to visit the other two because they are in contested areas in Syria’s civil war, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said in a statement on Monday. The organization said Sunday that inspectors would complete destruction of equipment for mixing chemicals and filling weapons by the start of November, an important milestone. But no details are yet available on what kind of facilities are in the two sites inspectors have been unable to visit or the chances for gaining access to them, raising the prospect that Syria will miss some deadlines. Despite this hurdle, a senior State Department official said Monday that the disarmament process was generally on track and that there “was reason to be optimistic.” Among the positive […]

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Report: Syria on target to destroy chemical arms | Al Jazeera America

The inspectors have “confirmed the functional destruction of the production and mixing and filling capabilities at all the sites” inspected so far, Ban said. The U.N. leader stressed that the deadline should be met “a mere” 34 days after the 15-nation Security Council ordered the destruction of all of Syria’s chemical weapons. “In all of these activities the government of the Syrian Arab Republic has extended consistent, constructive cooperation,” Ban said. There are 22 OPCW experts and about 50 UN staff supervising the destruction program so far, the U.N. report said. The report said security “remains difficult and unpredictable” for the inspectors because of the 31-month-old war which the U.N. says has left well over 100,000 dead. Ban added the inspectors would go to the last sites “as soon as conditions permit.” The report did not say if the unsafe sites were in government or opposition territory. And the […]

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Report: Syria on target to destroy chemical arms | Al Jazeera America

The inspectors have “confirmed the functional destruction of the production and mixing and filling capabilities at all the sites” inspected so far, Ban said. The U.N. leader stressed that the deadline should be met “a mere” 34 days after the 15-nation Security Council ordered the destruction of all of Syria’s chemical weapons. “In all of these activities the government of the Syrian Arab Republic has extended consistent, constructive cooperation,” Ban said. There are 22 OPCW experts and about 50 UN staff supervising the destruction program so far, the U.N. report said. The report said security “remains difficult and unpredictable” for the inspectors because of the 31-month-old war which the U.N. says has left well over 100,000 dead. Ban added the inspectors would go to the last sites “as soon as conditions permit.” The report did not say if the unsafe sites were in government or opposition territory. And the […]

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Syria Meets Deadline for Submitting Destruction Plan for Chemical Weapons

GENEVA — Syria submitted a formal declaration of its chemical weapons program and its plans for destroying its arsenal three days ahead of the deadline, the international chemical weapons watchdog said Sunday. The watchdog, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons , which has been charged with monitoring and destroying Syria’s chemical weapons program, said that it had received the Syrian submission on Thursday and that the agency’s Executive Council would review the declaration’s “general plan of destruction” by Nov. 15. It was not immediately clear, however, whether the declaration’s listing of chemical weapons sites was exhaustive, an important test of President Bashar al-Assad’s willingness to cooperate with the program to eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons infrastructure and arsenal. Saying that such declarations are confidential, the chemical weapons agency declined to disclose or discuss the contents of the Syrian document. American officials said in September that Syria’s chemical weapons […]

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Hardships Mounting for Refugees Inside Syria

DAMASCUS, Syria — Some five million Syrians are now refugees in their own country, many living hand-to-mouth in vacant buildings, schools, mosques, parks and the cramped homes of relatives. Others are trapped in neighborhoods isolated by military blockades, beyond the reach of aid groups. Already desperately short of food and medicine as winter closes in, they could begin to succumb in greater numbers to hunger and exposure, aid workers say. The long civil war has forced two million Syrians outside the country ‘s borders, but more than twice that number face mounting privations at home, and the toll keeps rising. The deepening humanitarian crisis threatens to set the country’s development back decades and dwarfs any aid effort that could conceivably be carried out while the conflict continues, aid workers and analysts say. The cost of replacing damaged homes and infrastructure alone is estimated at more than $30 billion, and […]

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Turkey raps international failure to tackle Syria aid crisis

KUWAIT (Reuters) – Turkey’s foreign minister on Thursday deplored what he called an international failure to tackle the humanitarian crisis in war-ridden Syria, saying food and medicine are running out and snipers are shooting pregnant women. Ahmet Davutoglu said Turkey, which has received more than 600,000 Syrian refugees, would keep its border with Syria open to people fleeing the violence but said the world needed to share the humanitarian burden. "I have to express our deep disappointment and frustration because of the absence of a proper reaction by the international community regarding the humanitarian situation on the ground," he told reporters in Kuwait during a bilateral visit. Turkey, which shares a 900-km (560-mile) border with Syria, is a strong critic of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and a major supporter of rebels fighting to oust him. The more than two-and-a-half-year conflict has killed over 100,000 people and displaced millions. "Those […]

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Jordan's rural poor chafe under the burden of hosting Syrian refugees | Al Jazeera America

Syria’s War Locals say that municipal water had previously been pumped through the village twice a week, but since the influx of Syrians, it’s just once a week — and they blame the Syrians for the rationing. There’s not enough water as it is in this country, one of the world’s driest, and now there are more people sharing what little is available. There are other pressures, too. Many of the schools in Zaatari village and its surroundings run double shifts to accommodate the increased number of students. Local health centers have seen a 30 to 40 percent increase in their case load, according to Madallah al-Khalde, the head of Zaatari’s development council who also heads the charitable Zaatari Association that has aided needy locals for almost three decades. “This area was poor already,” Khalde says, “now it’s a disaster area because of the large numbers of Syrian refugees.” […]

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Jordan’s rural poor chafe under the burden of hosting Syrian refugees | Al Jazeera America

Syria’s War Locals say that municipal water had previously been pumped through the village twice a week, but since the influx of Syrians, it’s just once a week — and they blame the Syrians for the rationing. There’s not enough water as it is in this country, one of the world’s driest, and now there are more people sharing what little is available. There are other pressures, too. Many of the schools in Zaatari village and its surroundings run double shifts to accommodate the increased number of students. Local health centers have seen a 30 to 40 percent increase in their case load, according to Madallah al-Khalde, the head of Zaatari’s development council who also heads the charitable Zaatari Association that has aided needy locals for almost three decades. “This area was poor already,” Khalde says, “now it’s a disaster area because of the large numbers of Syrian refugees.” […]

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Activists: Bomb near Syrian capital kills 16

AP Photo BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian activists say a suicide vehicle bombing of an army checkpoint outside Damascus has killed 16 soldiers. The state news agency SANA confirmed a blast Saturday in the suburb of Jaramana and said it caused casualties. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that rebels led by the al-Qaida-linked Jabhat al-Nusra or Nusra Front, carried out the attack while trying to capture the checkpoint in the town of Mleiha, overlooking Jaramana. It reported heavy fighting after the blast. Rebels control much of the countryside around Damascus but Jaramana, a Christian and Druse area, is mostly loyal to President Bashar Assad. Assad has drawn support from Syria’s ethnic and religious minorities, including Christians and members of his Alawite sect. The rebels are dominated by Syria’s Sunni Muslim majority. © 2013 The Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, […]

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A Top Syrian Intelligence Officer Is Killed in Fighting

BEIRUT, Lebanon — One of the Syrian government’s most prominent intelligence officers, Maj. Gen. Jamea Jamea, was killed during fighting in the eastern provincial capital of Deir al-Zour, Syrian rebels and the state news media said on Friday as government warplanes bombed the city after several days of fierce clashes. General Jamea, killed Thursday, is the most senior security figure confirmed dead in more than a year. He was respected in Syria’s powerful inner circles of intelligence and military leaders after a long career as a Syrian strongman in Lebanon and most recently for “doing a good job” against the uprising at home, according to a Syrian in contact with senior security figures. The European Union appeared to have a similar view of his importance, if a different response. In August 2011, it placed sanctions on General Jamea , freezing his assets and denying him a visa for travel […]

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