Syria chemical weapons facilities ‘inoperable’

BEIRUT – Syria’s chemical weapons production facilities have been rendered “inoperable” ahead of today’s deadline for their destruction, the international body overseeing the process said Thursday.

The finding confirms that Syria has met a major milestone in the elaborate disarmament process only one month after international inspectors first arrived in the country to begin the complex and politically sensitive operation.

A joint mission by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the United Nations aims to eliminate all of Syria’s chemical weapons stockpiles by mid-2014.

The next milestone for the international effort is Nov. 15. That’s when the joint OPCW-U.N. mission must approve a detailed plan to eliminate Syria’s existing chemical weapons stockpiles.

Los Angeles Times