The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights

Syria has shipped out less than 5 percent of chemical weapons

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Syria has promised to give up its entire stockpile by mid-2014, under a deal agreed by Russia and the U.S., but the country has given up less than 5 percent of its chemical weapons arsenal, Fox News confirmed.

According to Reuters, the country will miss next week’s deadline to send all toxic agents abroad for destruction.

The deliveries sent this month in two shipments to the Syria port of Latakia equaled 4.1 percent of the approximately 1,300 tons of toxic agents reported by Damascus to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the report said.

“It’s not enough and there is no sign of more,” a source briefed on the situation told Reuters.

The operation is 6-8 weeks behind schedule.

A senior U.S. State Department official told Reuters that the issue will be discussed at a OPCW executive council meeting Thursday in The Hague.  The meeting will reportedly focus on the lack of progress and confirm that no more than 5 percent of the chemical material has been removed.

Failure to eliminate the weapons could expose Syria to sanctions, Reuters reported.

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