Syrian officials find remnants of chemical weapons program from Assad regime era - report

Syrian authorities have discovered remnants of the former Assad regime's chemical weapons program, according to a Syrian official speaking to Reuters. The findings include raw materials and munitions similar to those used in deadly chemical attacks during the country's civil war. The government has also arrested 18 people suspected of involvement with the former regime's clandestine weapons program. These individuals are described as high-level military, political, and technical officials.

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located remnants of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's clandestine chemical weapons program, including raw materials and munitions similar to those used ⁠to carry out deadly gas attacks during the country's long-running civil war.

Mohamad Katoub, Syria's permanent representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), confirmed the arrests in an interview with Reuters. Separately, the Syrian interior ministry announced the arrest of a general from the ousted Bashar al-Assad era. This general is accused of involvement in a 2013 chemical attack on a Damascus suburb that killed 1,400 people.

According to AFP, the arrested general, Khardal Ahmed Dayoub, allegedly oversaw repressive operations and coordinated the bombing of Eastern Ghouta with internationally prohibited chemical weapons. While Syrian state media did not initially report the arrests, the AFP report detailed accusations of his implication in chemical attacks during his service in the Damascus branch and the Harasta area.

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Khardal Ahmed Dayoub, a former brigadier general in the forces of the ousted regime and former head of the Air Force Intelligence branch in Daraa, for his direct involvement in systematic violations against civilians.

The Assad regime's use of chemical weapons has been a recurring issue. A 2013 BBC report confirmed the use of the nerve agent sarin in an attack on the Ghouta area, which then-UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called a war crime. The UN report detailed the most significant confirmed use of chemical weapons against civilians since Saddam Hussein's regime.

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implicated in chemical attacks during his service in the Damascus branch and his presence in the Harasta area’ where ‘he oversaw repressive operations and contributed to the logistical coordination for the bombing of Eastern Ghouta with internationally prohibited chemical weapons.’