Syria turns over last chemical weapons

NICOSI A, CY PRUS — The last of Syria’s acknowledged stockpile of chemical weapons has been handed over to western governments for destruction.

The last eight per cent of the 1,300-ton stockpile, which included mustard gas and raw materials for making sarin nerve gas, has been loaded onto ships in Latakia, Syria, said Ahmet Uzumcu, director general of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

Uzumcu, whose organization oversees the elimination of such weapons, acknowledged it is possible Syria has avoided declaring some part of its arsenal.

However, he added that is true of any country that his organization co-operates with.