OPCW finds dozens of undeclared chemical munitions in Syria

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) reported in a May briefing that inspectors have located dozens of previously undeclared chemical aerial bombs and rockets at several high-priority sites across Syria after inspections conducted since the start of the month. Syria declared 26 chemical weapons locations when it joined the OPCW in 2013, but the watchdog has long maintained there may be roughly 100 additional sites; the recently discovered munitions are described as remnants of the chemical weapons program from the Assad era.

The findings follow the December 2024 overthrow of Bashar al-Assad and come amid pledges by the interim government led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa to eliminate any remaining illegal stockpiles. Syrian officials, including Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, have asked the international community and the OPCW for assistance in destroying the weapons. The OPCW has previously concluded that Syria’s government used chemical agents during the civil war and has also documented chemical-weapons use by the Islamic State group, as reported by ABC News

This story has also been reported by: SANA