We have also closely followed reports regarding air strikes directed at military installations. We do not yet know if these attacks have affected facilities linked to chemical weapons. Such air strikes could create an environmental hazard, says OPCW chief Fernando Arias.
Israel claims to have attacked sites in Syria where suspected chemical weapons are located.
Syria reluctantly joined the Chemical Weapons Convention in 2013, and it was then revealed that the country had a large-scale program of chemical weapons for strategic purposes. According to the convention, Syria was required to destroy the weapons, but there have always been concerns that more weapons remain.
Chemical weapons contain chemical substances that harm or kill through poisoning. They are defined as weapons of mass destruction, and it is a violation of international law to use them.
