Syria has destroyed all its declared chemical weapons production facilities, the international chemical weapons watchdog says.
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said in a document that teams had inspected 21 out of 23 chemical weapons sites across the country.
The other two were too dangerous to inspect and Syria has declared those sites as abandoned. It also says that the chemical weapons programme items they contained were moved to other declared sites, which were inspected.
Under a Russian-American brokered deal, Damascus agreed to destroy all its chemical weapons after Washington threatened to use force in response to the killing of hundreds of people in a sarin attack on the outskirts of Damascus on August 21st.
The United States and its allies blamed the forces of President Bashar al-Assad for the attack and several earlier incidents. The Syrian president has rejected the charge, blaming rebel brigades.
#Syria Completes Destruction Activities to Render Inoperable CW Production Facilities and Mixing/Filling Plants http://t.co/VMYvk8xCay
— OPCW (@OPCW) October 31, 2013
Under the disarmament timetable, Syria was due to render unusable all production and chemical weapons filling facilities by November 1st - a target it has now met. By mid-2014 it must have destroyed its entire stockpile of chemical weapons.
The first monthly report by the inspectors, covering their work on the ground since October 1, has been sent to the UN Security Council by UN chief Ban Ki-moon.
OPCW Director-General Ahmet Üzümcü welcomed back to the OPCW headquarters the group of eight inspectors, who arrived in Damascus with the Advanced Team on October 1st and have been conducting the work on the ground ever since.
"On behalf of the OPCW, I thank you and all of our colleagues from the Joint OPCW-UN Mission who remain in Syria for your outstanding service" the Director-General said. "I salute the fortitude and courage you've all demonstrated in fulfilling the most challenging mission ever undertaken by this Organisation" he added.
The Joint OPCW-UN Mission has inspected 21 of the 23 sites declared by Syria, and 39 of the 41 facilities located at those sites. The two remaining sites were not visited due to safety and security concerns. But Syria declared those sites as abandoned and that the chemical weapons programme items they contained were moved to other declared sites, which were inspected.
The body says it is now satisfied that it has verified - and seen destroyed - all of Syria's declared critical production and mixing/filling equipment.
The OPCW was recently awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for its work.
Separately, rights group Amnesty International has criticised Jordan for imposing restrictions on refugees trying to flee conflict in Syria.
