LaNUBlog™

Over 100,000 people are estimated to have died in the Syrian conflict. The UN’s human rights chief on Tuesday said an inquiry had produced evidence that war crimes were authorised in Syria at the highest level, including by President Bashar al-Assad. The UN’s human rights chief, Navi Pillay, said her office held a list of others implicated by the inquiry. She added that she had not seen the confidential list but that she had been briefed by UN investigators.

Israel is thought to have carried out several air strikes in Syria earlier this year. Israeli aircraft have carried out a strike near the Syrian coastal city of Latakia, a US official says. The official said the strike targeted Russian-made missiles intended for the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Latakia is a stronghold of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, an important port city where the Alawite community to which he belongs is concentrated. Israel is widely reported to have carried out at least three air strikes in Syria so far this year. Reports of the strike came as the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said all Syria's declared equipment for making chemical weapons had been destroyed, one day before a deadline. Action by the OPCW was agreed following allegations, denied by the Syrian government, that its forces had used chemical weapons in civilian areas - and after the US and France threatened military intervention. Delicate moment A US o...

The Hague - International inspection teams overseeing the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons will have to negotiate cease-fires to access some sites, officials closely involved with the mission said on Wednesday, in a clear indication of the risks and difficulties of the unprecedented disarmament plan. The very fact that the joint United Nations and Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons team will have to persuade Syrian government forces and rebels to put down their arms highlights how hard it will be for the international effort to rid Damascus of its poison gas stockpile by a mid-2014 deadline. OPCW Director-General Ahmet Uzumcu told reporters in The Hague the timeline was tight but "not unrealistic". He said inspectors have to visit more than 20 sites in coming days and weeks. Since the mission started last week, they have been to one location; they are expected to inspect a second site near Damascus on Wednesday. This is the first time the glob...

Damascus - Syrian President Bashar Assad could take "credit" for swiftly moving to eliminate his government's chemical arms, top US diplomat John Kerry said on Monday, after UN experts began destroying Syria's missile warheads and aerial bombs. The operation, performed by Syrian personnel under the supervision of international disarmament experts, took place under the terms of a UN Security Council resolution that will see Damascus relinquish the banned arms. "The process has begun in record time and we are appreciative for the Russian co-operation and obviously for the Syrian compliance," Kerry told reporters alongside Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov after talks in Indonesia. "I think it's extremely significant that yesterday, Sunday, within a week of the [UN] resolution being passed, some chemical weapons were being destroyed," the US Secretary of State said. "I think it's a credit to the Assad regime, frankly. It's a ...

The destruction of Syria's chemical weapons has begun, international monitors have said. The operation is being overseen by a team from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). The mission was established under a United Nations resolution, which was passed after agreement between Russia and the US. The resolution followed international outrage at a chemical weapons attack near Damascus in August. In an interim report, UN chemical weapons inspectors confirmed that the nerve agent sarin had been used in the attack in Ghouta on the outskirts of the city on 21 August. It was estimated to have killed hundreds of people and was blamed by the United States and other Western powers on the regime of Bashar al-Assad. But he accuses Syrian rebels of being behind it. Analysis ByPaul Wood BBC News, at the UN in New York It's a huge task - one estimate says Syria has 1,000 tonnes of the nerve agent sarin, VX nerve gas, mustard gas and other chemical weapons a...

A team of international disarmament experts is due to arrive in Damascus to begin work on dismantling Syria's chemical weapons arsenal. Syria says it will co-operate with the mission set up after a US-Russia deal endorsed by the UN Security Council. It is the first time the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has been asked to destroy a country's chemical arms during a war. Correspondents say the OPCW inspectors face a daunting task. Syria's Foreign Minister, Walid Muallem, has said that seven out of 19 declared chemical weapons sites are in combat zones. The BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut says it could be complicated for the inspectors to gain access to these areas; local truces may be needed to allow the work to proceed. SYRIA PEACE PLAN *."Geneva II" talks proposed in Switzerland *.Secretary General Ban Ki-moon plans November date *.Diplomats want to build on UN consensus over chemical arms *.Syria says Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Q...

The UN Security Council has unanimously adopted a binding resolution on ridding Syria of chemical weapons. At a session in New York, the 15-member body backed the draft document agreed earlier by Russia and the US. The deal breaks a two-and-a-half year deadlock in the UN over Syria, where fighting between government forces and rebels rages on. The vote came after the international chemical watchdog agreed on a plan to destroy Syria's stockpile by mid-2014. 'Powerful diplomacy' Speaking after the vote in New York, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon described the decision as "historic". "Tonight the international community has delivered." He urged the Syrian government to implement the resolution "faithfully and without delay", and also announced a tentative date of mid-November for a new peace conference in Geneva. US Secretary of State John Kerry said the UN demonstrated that "diplomacy can be so powerful that it can peacefully defus...

The UN Security Council has begun discussing a draft resolution on ridding Syria of chemical weapons after the US and Russia agreed the text. The vote in the 15-member Council could take place later on Friday, say diplomats at the UN in New York. The agreement breaks a two-and-a-half year deadlock in the UN over Syria. It is seen as a key step in a US-Russia brokered plan earlier this month under which Syria agreed to disclose its arsenal and eliminate it by mid-2014. Russia and China have three times blocked Western-backed resolutions in the Security Council against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. 'Binding and enforceable' UN draft resolution - main points *.Says the use of chemical weapons anywhere constitutes a threat to peace and security *.Condemns in the strongest terms any use of chemical weapons in Syria *.Decides, in the event of non-compliance with this resolution, to impose measures under Chapter VII The council began discussing the draft resolution short...

Eleven Islamist rebel groups in Syria have announced they do not recognise the authority of the main opposition alliance, the National Coalition. A joint statement says: "All groups formed abroad without having returned to the country do not represent us." They also call for the opposition to unite under an "Islamic framework". Islamist rebel forces have become increasing prominent in the conflict in Syria, and they are believed to command tens of thousands of fighters. The signatories include members of the Free Syrian Army as well as more radical Islamists - among them the powerful al-Nusra Front, which has links to al-Qaeda. It comes amid fighting on the ground between the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), an offshoot of al-Qaeda, and more moderate rebel forces, especially in areas along Syria's northern and eastern borders. 'Unite under Sharia' In a video statement published online on Tuesday, 11 of the most powerful Islamist groups...

Syria warned the United States on Friday that it was prepared to confront any aggression against the war-torn nation. The challenge came as Western powers were debating the use of military force against Syria's government to counter a chemical weapons attack in Damascus' suburbs last week.On Wednesday, U.S. President Barack Obama said there's no doubt that Syria launched chemical weapons attacks against its own people. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime has blamed the August 21 attack on rebels. The Syrian army and its people will respond to any attack and are ready to confront any form of military aggression by superpowers against the country, Syria's defense minister Fahd Jasem al-Freij said during a telephone call with his Iranian counterpart, Hussein Dehghan, Syrian state news agency SANA, reported Friday.Iran's armed forces chief of staff, Maj. Gen. Hassan Firouzabadi, warned the United States and its allies against any attack on Syria, saying any n...

Syria warned the United States on Friday that it was prepared to confront any aggression against the war-torn nation. The challenge came as Western powers were debating the use of military force against Syria's government to counter a chemical weapons attack in Damascus' suburbs last week.On Wednesday, U.S. President Barack Obama said there's no doubt that Syria launched chemical weapons attacks against its own people. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime has blamed the August 21 attack on rebels. The Syrian army and its people will respond to any attack and are ready to confront any form of military aggression by superpowers against the country, Syria's defense minister Fahd Jasem al-Freij said during a telephone call with his Iranian counterpart, Hussein Dehghan, Syrian state news agency SANA, reported Friday.Iran's armed forces chief of staff, Maj. Gen. Hassan Firouzabadi, warned the United States and its allies against any attack on Syria, saying any n...

U.N. evidence that could show whether chemical weapons were used in Syria will head to a lab Monday, but the answer may just be a formality. The American president has already said there's no doubt Syria's government killed hundreds of civilians in a chemical weapon attack -- and he wants to go after the regime. Independent tests have revealed "signatures of sarin gas" in blood and hair samples from Syria, Secretary of State John Kerry said. President Barack Obama wants Congress to sign off on limited strikes on Syrian targets -- but some lawmakers bristle at the idea of getting ensnared in another overseas conflict.A lot is riding on what the United States decides to do. Britain has already voted against taking any military action on Syria, and France said it won't act without the United States as a partner.That means if the United States wants to attack Syria, it may have to do it alone. On Monday, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime asked the U.N. ...

U.N. evidence that could show whether chemical weapons were used in Syria will head to a lab Monday, but the answer may just be a formality. The American president has already said there's no doubt Syria's government killed hundreds of civilians in a chemical weapon attack -- and he wants to go after the regime. Independent tests have revealed "signatures of sarin gas" in blood and hair samples from Syria, Secretary of State John Kerry said. President Barack Obama wants Congress to sign off on limited strikes on Syrian targets -- but some lawmakers bristle at the idea of getting ensnared in another overseas conflict.A lot is riding on what the United States decides to do. Britain has already voted against taking any military action on Syria, and France said it won't act without the United States as a partner.That means if the United States wants to attack Syria, it may have to do it alone. On Monday, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime asked the U.N. ...

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

As the ramifications of a grisly chemical weapons attack loom over a summit of world leaders, some of Syria's staunchest friends blasted what they call the "arrogance" of U.S.-led efforts to strike the war-torn nation and said those who do will pay a steep price. Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Thursday the United States -- which, in addition to being one of his country's chief adversaries, has led the push to punish Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government over chemical weapons -- has no right to make "humanitarian claims (given) their track record" in Iraq, Afghanistan and at the military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.The turmoil in the Middle East, Iran's leader said in remarks reported by state-run Press TV, is a "reaction of the global arrogance" that is rooted Washington. Should the United States and allies strike Syria, he added, it won't be able to "eliminate (the) resistance." "We believe that the ...

President Barack Obama tried Tuesday to sell a military intervention he never wanted to an American public that opposes it, telling the nation that he needed authorization to attack Syria as leverage in a newly emerged diplomatic opening from Russia. Calling the United States "the anchor of global security," Obama offered moral, political and strategic arguments for being ready to launch limited military strikes while trying to negotiate a diplomatic solution to what he called Syria's violation of a global ban on chemical weapons. "Our ideals and principles, as well as our national security, are at stake in Syria, along with our leadership of a world where we seek to ensure that the worst weapons will never be used," Obama said in making the case that the United States must act when dictators such as Syrian President Bashar al-Assad "brazenly" violate international treaties intended to protect humanity. The 15-minute nationally televised speech init...

President Barack Obama tried Tuesday to sell a military intervention he never wanted to an American public that opposes it, telling the nation that he needed authorization to attack Syria as leverage in a newly emerged diplomatic opening from Russia. Calling the United States "the anchor of global security," Obama offered moral, political and strategic arguments for being ready to launch limited military strikes while trying to negotiate a diplomatic solution to what he called Syria's violation of a global ban on chemical weapons. "Our ideals and principles, as well as our national security, are at stake in Syria, along with our leadership of a world where we seek to ensure that the worst weapons will never be used," Obama said in making the case that the United States must act when dictators such as Syrian President Bashar al-Assad "brazenly" violate international treaties intended to protect humanity. The 15-minute nationally televised speech init...

After a UN reportconcluded that chemical weapons were used in Syria last month, efforts to determine who was to blame rage on via websites. UK Foreign Secretary William Hague believes the weapons inspectors' findings are " fully consistent" with his belief that Bashar al-Assad's government was responsible. But videos uploaded to the YouTube and LiveLeak websites this week claim to show opposition forces launching the 21 August attack on the Damascus suburb of Ghouta. They were swiftly picked up by media outlets in countries allied to Syria, including state-owned TV channel Russia Today. The poor-quality videos show men standing around an artillery vehicle, wearing what appear to be gas masks, with the cannon's barrel draped in large black flags bearing Islamic symbols and the name of rebel group Liwa al-Islam. In one video, a man mentions the group and - after one blast - the men chant "Allahu Akbar", or "God is great". Liwa al-Islam eventua...

The international chemical weapons watchdog has said that it is studying details submitted by Syria about its arsenal of poison gas and nerve agents. But a spokesman for the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said it was expecting more details from Damascus ahead of deadline for submissions by the end of Saturday. Syria has agreed to provide a full list of its chemical arms by then. It is believed to have around 1,000 tonnes of chemical toxins. Its entire chemical weapons arsenal is meant to be dismantled by the middle of next year under the terms of a the US-Russia brokered deal. The US, UK and France have accused Syrian government forces of carrying out a chemical attack in the Ghouta district of the capital, Damascus, on 21 August, killing hundreds of people. On Monday, the UN confirmed in a report that the nerve agent sarin had been used in the attack, although it did not apportion blame. The US has threatened military action over the attack. Anal...

...Continuation, Behind the scenes of the OPCW chemical testing lab Where have weapons been destroyed before? Iraq and more recently Libya have both had chemical weapons stockpiles destroyed. In Iraq, UN weapons inspectors located chemical weapons facilities and sealed them up. Once sealed they were effectively put beyond use. Alastair Hay, professor of environmental toxicology at Leeds University, said the Iraq model was a possible option. "As long as these things are secure, that is the first guarantee and then you have to set about destroying them in the best way possible," he said. The Libyan stockpile was much smaller and a disposal plant was built to deal with it - although a further stockpile of mustard gas was later uncovered after the overthrow of the Gaddafi regime. How long will it take? Under the terms of the CWC, Syria has been given nine months to complete the destruction of its chemical weapons. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said he is committe...