Syria Chemical Weapons Facilities Must Be Destroyed, Official Says

Syria must destroy all the facilities used to create chemical weapons in order to comply with international agreements, a top U.S. official said Friday.

The country has already prepared about 92 percent of its chemical weapons to be shipped out of the country. But Rose Gottemoeller, the State Department’s top arms control official, said destroying the last eight percent won’t be enough. Gottemoeller said the Syria must also destroy all relevant facilities, including hangars and tunnels, the Associated Press reports.

She told reporters that the remaining chemical weapons are all in a single site in Damascus. These last 16 containers are in an area currently inaccessible due to fighting, a top United Nations official said Thursday.

Gottemoeller’s comments come amid growing skepticism that Syrian President Bashar Assad will deliver on a promise to destroy the country’s chemical arsenal by June 30.

[AP]