The inspectors say that Syria has more than 100 chemical weapons sites

More than 100 chemical weapons sites are suspected that they are left behind The president has long fallenBashar al -Assad, according to the leading international organization that tracks these weapons.

This number is the first estimate of its kind as a group, which is the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which seeks to enter Syria to evaluate the remainder of the military program of Mr. Assad. The number is much higher than anything that Mr. Alasad admitted.

The sites have been suspected of researching, manufacturing and storing chemical weapons. Mr. Assad user Weapons like Sarin and Chlor Gas against Syrian rebel fighters and civilians during more than a decade Civil war.

The number of sites, and whether it was guaranteed, was a mystery since the rebels overthrew Mr. Al -Assad last year. Now, chemicals are a major test for Acting governmentThe group is led Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham. The group was appointed as a terrorist organization by the United States, but it gave up its ties to al -Qaeda.

The risks are high due to How deadly weapons areEspecially when used in densely populated areas. Sarin, a nerve agent, can be killed within minutes. Chlorine gas and mustard, weapons that have become notorious in the First World War, burning eyes and skin and filling the lungs with liquid, and it seems soaked on the ground.

Experts are concerned about the possibility of militant groups to reach guaranteed chemical weapons facilities.

On a surprise visit in March to the headquarters of global chemical weapons control in The Hague, the Syrian Foreign Minister said that the government “will destroy any remnants of the chemical weapons program developed under the Assad regime” and compliance with international law.

Experts are optimistic about the government’s sincerity. The current government allowed a team of the International Energy Agency to enter the country this year to start working in location documentation, according to people with a trip.

But Syria is still in a dangerous place Violence erupted in the coastal area In recent weeks between government forces and groups that are in line with Mr. Assad. Despite promises, the new government has not appointed an ambassador to the International Energy Agency – the first main step to be seen as a sign of the country’s commitment. The Syrian Ministry of Defense refused to answer the written questions about weapons, saying without detailing that the questions were not under its jurisdiction.

In the early years of the civil war, the government of Mr. Assad announced that the sites of 27 sites for the prohibition of chemical weapons, or OPCW, which sent the inspectors to visit and close. But Mr. Al -Assad continued to use chemical weapons until at least 2018, and Research showed His government continued to import chemicals basic ectops.

The current estimate comes for more than 100 sites from the Supervisory Authority, and has been distributed recently between experts and international spread analysts. The organization said it had reached the number of external researchers, non -profit groups and intelligence that member states participate.

Some sites are likely to be hidden in caves or other places that are difficult to find using satellite images, according to researchers, former members of the organization and other experts. This increases the possibility of not securing some weapons.

“There are many sites that we do not know about because the old regime was lying to OPCW,” said Raid Salih, a civil defense leader in Syria, also known as white helmets, a volunteer group that it works with the government to try to dismantle chemical weapons sites.

Nadel Sheikhani, who leads the Center for Documentation of Chemical Violations in Syria and worked with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons for years, said that his group has identified dozens of new sites that could be chemical weapons stocks or previous research sites based on interviews with the science of the Syrian government living in Europe.

It is important to find and control these sites for reasons that go beyond security. The inspectors also want to collect evidence for their investigations into the use of the frequent use of chemical weapons. International observers, independent researchers and Syrian humanitarian groups I have documented Dozens of attacks, with thousands of people, including children among victims. He was the most famous 2013 SARIN GAS Assault In the Ghouta area, one of the suburbs of Damascus, the capital.

Last year, Israel fired air strikes on many Syrian regime facilities, as it was known that chemical weapons were held. But it is unclear whether these strikes destroyed chemical weapons.

Mr. Sheikhani and others said that they are concerned that the strikes created mere environmental pollution and destroying evidence. International groups hope that chemical evidence will answer the main questions about the Assad government’s research and help in international judicial prosecutions.

“It is possible that the Israeli attacks that took place immediately after the fall of Assad were not put in some of this, and may obscure the efforts made to accountability,” said Natasha Hall, a senior colleague at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

Sarin gas is prohibited under international law. The rules are more blurry for other chemicals. For example, chlorine gas can be created using common home cleaning products. This makes almost impossible to organize the sale of ectober.

The chemical weapons program in Syria began in the 1970s with the help of hundreds of government scientists, many of whom were trained in Germany and other parts of Europe, according to a previous Syrian government formulation that spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of revenge.

The world worked in the chemical weapons department at the Army’s Scientific Studies and Research Center. This center, which is subject to international sanctions, has worked on traditional, chemical and nuclear weapons.

He and others said, he and others escaped from the country during the war, but others remain in Syria. The United States imposed sanctions on more than 300 people and entities regarding the chemical weapons program in Syria.

Despite the assurances of the new government, weapons inspectors reduce their optimism. They have heard such assurances in Syria before.

Syria has first agreed to get rid of chemical weapons for more than a decade. But when the inspectors conducted their work, they became convinced that Mr. Alasad had no intention to reveal complete information about his stocks. Former employees say they were subjected to government prevention.

in One -loop In 2014, Syrian inspectors and employees were investigating a possible location when a car in their convoy hit a roadside bomb. Two Syrians who were in the convoy blamed the government for misleading them and ensuring that the road was safe. Other employees recalled that they were constantly afraid that the government was listening to their talks or spying.

The government of Mr. Al -Assad covered the attacks in which Sarin and chlorine gas used On its people.

In the town of Zamalka, near Damascus, the graves were distinguished by the names of many residents who were killed during the war, and the dates of their death. On the other side of the cemetery, a pile of dirt sits, high on the ground, and its importance is not specific.

A local official said that the city had buried the local men, women and children who were killed A suspected chemical weapons attack for the year 2013. When the government of Mr. Al -Assad regained the city in 2017, the official said, the government removed the graves of graves and covered the graves.