Ban Ki-moon recommends 100 strong chemical weapons team

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon outlined his plan for the establishment of a chemical weapons mission with about 100 technical specialists, administrators and security officers to destroy Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal. In a letter to the Security Council, Ban said the UN could handle tasks including communication and coordination with the Syrian government and opposition groups, Al-Manar reported. Ban said the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) would handle technical consultations, verification, and inspections. The UN plan, which will require approval by the Security Council, is designed to implement an agreement on Syria’s chemical weapons that was brokered by the United States and Russia and endorsed by the council and the OPCW’s executive board. The United Nations has sent an advance team of 35 to Damascus to begin dismantling Syria’s chemical weapons program; the team is using "cutting torches and angle grinders to destroy or disable" some "missile warheads, aerial bombs and mixing and filling equipment," Ban said. And he said the United Nations and the OPCW would move "as soon as possible" to conclude a status-of-forces agreement with Syria to govern the terms of their work in the country.