Syria discovers chemical weapons stockpile that could destroy the country

The amount of weapons held by the rebels is enough to destroy the entire Middle Eastern country.

After a period of "lull" in accusations of using chemical weapons in the conflict in Syria, the government announced on July 8 that it had discovered a quantity of chemical weapons stored by the rebels that was powerful enough to destroy the entire Middle Eastern country.

Syrian rebel soldiers use homemade grenade launchers during fighting in Aleppo (Photo: AFP)

The Syrian government has proposed dialogue with the United Nations on this issue. Meanwhile, the opposition has also proposed a ceasefire between the two sides as Muslims today (July 9) begin the holy month of Ramadan, an important month for Muslims.

Speaking to reporters at the United Nations headquarters in New York, USA on July 8, Syrian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Bashar Ja'afari said that Syrian authorities had discovered 281 containers of dangerous chemicals in the city of Banias. This amount of dangerous chemicals is capable of destroying the entire city, even the entire country of Syria: "The investigation is currently underway. These chemicals were discovered in a secret warehouse, and are controlled by armed terrorist groups."

To clarify the origin of the deadly weapons, the Syrian Ambassador said that the government has sent a proposal for dialogue to the United Nations High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Angela Kane and the Head of the United Nations Investigation Team on the allegations of chemical weapons use in Syria, Ake Sellstrom.

According to Mr. Ja'afari, the dialogue will be held at the headquarters of the Syrian Foreign Ministry to "continue discussing the mechanism and terms of operation" of the UN investigation team, which was established by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last March.

In the latest response, the Spokesperson of the UN Secretary-General welcomed Syria's proposal, saying that Swedish scientist Sellstrom will travel to New York this week to report on his activities.

The investigation team is expected to continue to monitor developments, collect and analyze information provided by Syrian authorities, and conduct a search for evidence of chemical weapons in a neighboring country, but did not specify which country.

The conflict in Syria continues to cause heavy civilian casualties, while Muslims today begin the holy month of Ramadan. The new leader of the Syrian National Coalition (SNC) opposition, Ahmad Jarba, has proposed a ceasefire during the month to President Bashar Assad. Speaking after a meeting with rebel commanders in Idlib province, Mr Jarba said: "We met with a delegation from Homs. Based on the need for medical assistance, we propose a ceasefire during Ramadan to stop the bloodshed and protect civilians."

Meanwhile, on the ground, government troops continue to win many victories against rebel forces. Syria's official news agency SANA reported that Syrian government troops continued to win important victories in the Wa'ar Gardens district in Homs city, after advancing into the Khaldiyeh district. This is the latest victory in the fiercest attack by the Syrian army in Homs since the outbreak of the wave of anti-government protests against President al-Assad in March 2011.

With these favorable developments, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad announced on July 8 a reshuffle of the ruling Baath Party's leadership, appointing several new leadership positions in the party. Syrian TV quoted al-Assad at a meeting of the ruling party as saying that the Baath Party needs to develop to enhance the environment for dialogue and connections with the people to overcome the negative effects of the current crisis./.

According to VOV - DT