Syrian Source to Al Jazeera: Assad Still Has Plenty Of Chemical Weapons

A senior commander in the Syrian Republican Guard told Al Jazeera that the Assad regime still retains large quantities of chemical weapons in underground secret facilities in central Damascus and its periphery. This disclosure comes after the OPCW’s announcement that it has finished dismantling Assad’s chemical weapons program. The Syrian source, who declined to disclose his name for fear of reprisal, said that the Assad regime began hiding these chemicals following its use of chemical weapons in a deadly attack on East Ghouta in Damascus suburbs in August 2013. He points to five secret facilities where Assad hides his undeclared cache of chemical weapons. According to the source, the first site is located under the headquarters of the Air Force in central Damascus to the east of the Umayyad roundabout, and extends under the headquarters of the Army’s General Staff and what was once the Meridien Hotel. The second site is located in the headquarters of the 105th Brigade on the western slope of Mount Qassioun, and is likely to be the largest store of chemical weapons. Third site is located in Al Thanaya area north of Adra Housing. The fourth site, believed to be the oldest, is located near the town of Qutaifa to the north of Damascus. The site, the most secret of all, is located in the headquarters of the Army’s Elite Forces in Al Qaboun district in Damascus, and it is likely that this facility was evacuated following the outbreak of the revolution in March 2011. (Source: Al Jazeera)