Chemical arms inspectors due to arrive in Damascus

PanARMENIAN.Net - A team of international disarmament experts is due to arrive in Damascus to begin work on dismantling Syria's chemical weapons arsenal, BBC News reported.

Syria says it will co-operate with the mission set up after a U.S.-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.

The OPCW experts filed an interim report last month confirming that the nerve agent sarin had been used in attacks on 21 August near Damascus.

Syria's chemical weapons arsenal is believed to include more than 1,000 tonnes of sarin, mustard gas and other banned chemicals stored at dozens of sites.

Last month, it handed the OPCW a full account of its arsenal, as part of the U.S.-Russian plan.

An official for the organisation told the AFP news agency on Sunday: "At this point, we have absolutely no reason to doubt the information provided by the Syrian regime."