{"id":230,"date":"2014-06-02T14:24:22","date_gmt":"2014-06-02T14:24:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.di4sr.com\/en\/?p=230"},"modified":"2014-06-02T14:26:02","modified_gmt":"2014-06-02T14:26:02","slug":"assad-hiding-chemical-arms-remote-mountainside-activist-charges-read-assad-hiding-chemical-arms-remote-mountainside-activist-charges-times-israel-httpwww-timesofisrael-coma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.di4sr.com\/en\/assad-hiding-chemical-arms-remote-mountainside-activist-charges-read-assad-hiding-chemical-arms-remote-mountainside-activist-charges-times-israel-httpwww-timesofisrael-coma\/","title":{"rendered":"Assad hiding chemical arms in remote mountainside, activist charges"},"content":{"rendered":"

Opposition figures accused the Syrian regime of hiding chemical weapons in remote Alawite regions of northwestern Syria, defying its international commitment to eliminate its chemical stockpile by the end of June.<\/span><\/p>\n

A senior member of the Syrian opposition who maintains contact with security officials still working for the Assad regime told The Times of Israel that on April 16, three vehicles arrived by night to Jourin, 100 kilometers (60 miles) northwest of Hama, where the regime\u2019s Mountain Brigade was stationed. According to the officials, the vehicles were loaded with chemical substances, which were then buried underground within the brigade\u2019s encampment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Electricity was cut to the entire region as the cars arrived, the activist said.<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition, the sources reported, the regime has been transferring chemical substances and missiles carrying chemical warheads from a research center in the town of Marzaf, 20 kilometers (12 miles) northwest of Hama, to a converted recreation camp northeast of Masyaf, a town lying 50 kilometers west of Hama.<\/span><\/p>\n

The weapons were placed in secret caves and trenches in the mountain near the camp.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAccording to our information, this is not the first time chemical weapons are moved from place to place,\u201d the opposition member told The Times of Israel. \u201cWe believe the regime has hidden a large amount of VX (nerve agent) which is extremely toxic.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A

A satellite image of the compound northeast of Masyaf where the Assad regime is reportedly stockpiling chemical weapons (photo credit: Google maps)<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Before agreeing last September to hand over his entire chemical stockpile to\u00a0the UN, Bashar Assad held some 200 tons of VX, he added. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHow much of this he has handed over, I do not know,\u201d the opposition figure told The Times of Israel.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Times of Israel could not independently confirm the information, and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which is overseeing the destruction of Syria\u2019s chemical stockpile, did not respond to a request for comment.<\/span><\/p>\n

An opposition activist from Hama said that in the early days of the Syrian uprising the camp \u2014 which contains tents, and a swimming pool and was used for civilian recreation \u2014 was converted into an enclosed military research center. The entire mountain behind the camp has also been surrounded by newly dug trenches, visible in satellite images of the area.<\/span><\/p>\n

The new information confirms\u00a0an Israeli report\u00a0revealed by the Sunday Times in February, whereby Assad has been stockpiling missiles with chemical warheads in Alawite areas west of Hama.<\/span><\/p>\n

Last week, UN\u00a0Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon informed the UN Security Council that the June 30 deadline for totally eliminating Syria\u2019s chemical weapons will not be met, because the Syrian government says the final shipment of dangerous chemicals can\u2019t be transported safely.<\/span><\/p>\n

The UN chief said in a letter obtained last Wednesday by The Associated Press that 7.2 percent of Syria\u2019s declared chemical stockpile remains in the country. He said the government insists it doesn\u2019t fully control security in the area where the chemical agents are stored and has \u201cserious concerns about the safety and security\u201d of convoys that will transport the material to the port of Latakia.<\/span><\/p>\n

But the Syrian opposition member estimated that\u00a0the regime is hiding \u201cno less than 20 percent of its chemical stockpiles.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThese 20 percent are enough to destroy the entire Middle East,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

AP contributed to this report.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Opposition figures accused the Syrian regime of hiding chemical weapons in remote Alawite regions of northwestern Syria, defying its international commitment to eliminate its chemical stockpile by the end of June. A senior member of the Syrian opposition who maintains contact with security officials still working for the Assad regime told The Times of Israel…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":232,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.di4sr.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.di4sr.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.di4sr.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.di4sr.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.di4sr.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=230"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.di4sr.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":234,"href":"http:\/\/www.di4sr.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230\/revisions\/234"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.di4sr.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/232"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.di4sr.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.di4sr.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.di4sr.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}