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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Syria chemical weapons: Security 'slows transport' | Syria chemical weapons: Security 'slows transport' |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The UN body tasked with removing and destroying Syria's chemical arsenal says security concerns have slowed down the process. | The UN body tasked with removing and destroying Syria's chemical arsenal says security concerns have slowed down the process. |
| Ahmet Uzumcu, who heads the organisation, said the amount of chemicals that had reached the Syrian port of Latakia ready to leave the country was not that high. | Ahmet Uzumcu, who heads the organisation, said the amount of chemicals that had reached the Syrian port of Latakia ready to leave the country was not that high. |
| But he expressed confidence the arms would be destroyed by the end of June. | But he expressed confidence the arms would be destroyed by the end of June. |
| There are plans to speed up the process. | There are plans to speed up the process. |
| Removing the most dangerous chemicals is the first step of a UN-backed deal to eliminate Syria's chemical arsenal. | Removing the most dangerous chemicals is the first step of a UN-backed deal to eliminate Syria's chemical arsenal. |
| Most dangerous | |
| Mr Uzumcu, who leads the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), said the delays were due to technical problems and the obvious difficulties of operating in a warzone. | Mr Uzumcu, who leads the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), said the delays were due to technical problems and the obvious difficulties of operating in a warzone. |
| But he said additional measures had been put in place to help smooth the transportation. | But he said additional measures had been put in place to help smooth the transportation. |
| The OPCW would "do our best to meet" the end of June deadline for chemical weapons elimination, Mr Uzumcu added. | |
| The organisation set a deadline of 31 March 2014 to destroy Syria's most dangerous chemical weapons, and all of its chemical arms stockpile by 30 June. | |
| Mr Uzumcu was speaking in Rome, where he sought to calm local concerns about plans for an as yet unnamed Italian port to play a part in the operation. | |
| Cargo ships | |
| Denmark and Norway are providing cargo ships and military escorts to take the chemicals to the Italian port where the "most critical" chemical agents will be loaded onto a US Maritime Administration cargo ship, MV Cape Ray. | Denmark and Norway are providing cargo ships and military escorts to take the chemicals to the Italian port where the "most critical" chemical agents will be loaded onto a US Maritime Administration cargo ship, MV Cape Ray. |
| The plan is that the materials will then be destroyed by a process known as hydrolysis in international waters. | The plan is that the materials will then be destroyed by a process known as hydrolysis in international waters. |
| The Syrian authorities are responsible for packing and safely transporting the chemical weapons to Latakia. | The Syrian authorities are responsible for packing and safely transporting the chemical weapons to Latakia. |
| It was hoped that several hundred tonnes of the most dangerous Syrian chemical agents would have been removed by now, says the BBC's Alan Johnston in Rome. | |
| But so far only a fraction of the stockpile has been collected and stored aboard a Danish ship, our correspondent adds. | |
| International outrage | |
| Syria continues to be ravaged by the conflict which began with the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad in March 2011. | |
| The decision on Syria's chemical weapons stockpile arose from confirmation of a sarin attack in Damascus on 21 August. | |
| It killed hundreds, provoked international outrage and led to a US-Russia deal to destroy the weapons. | |
| The UN says more than 100,000 people have died since the Syrian conflict began. An estimated two million people have fled Syria and some 6.5 million have been displaced internally. | |
| Government officials are due to attend peace talks - known as Geneva II - in Switzerland next week. | |
| However, the main opposition alliance, the National Coalition, has still not decided whether or not to take part. | |
| It is due to meet in Istanbul for a vote on Friday amid growing pressure from the West. | |
| How the plan will unfold |