31/10/2013 18:23
Syria chemical weapons equipment destroyed, says OPCW
Syria's declared equipment for producing, mixing and filling chemical weapons has been destroyed, the BBC reported, citing the international watchdog.
This comes a day before the deadline set by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
The weapons have been placed under seal, an OPCW spokesman said.
Inspectors were sent to Syria following allegations, denied by the government, that its forces had used chemical weapons in civilian areas.
The inspections were agreed between Russia and the US after Washington threatened to use force in Syria.
Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad told the BBC's Lyse Doucet that it had not been difficult for Syria's government to meet its obligations, as some had initially feared.
Now that the equipment has been put beyond use, Syria has until mid-2014 to destroy the chemical weapons themselves.
Its arsenal is believed to include more than 1,000 tonnes of the nerve gas sarin, the blister agent sulphur mustard and other banned chemicals, stored at dozens of sites.
In a separate development, a large explosion at a Syrian army base has been reported outside the coastal city of Latakia.
Local media say the base was targeted by Israeli forces but this has not been confirmed.
Israel is believed to have targeted the same base in July and is concerned that some weapons in Syria are being moved to Hezbollah militants in neighbouring Lebanon.