Syria arrests former official linked to Assad-era chemical weapons program
DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) – Syrian authorities arrested a former official who oversaw sarin gas stockpiles and chemical weapons production under the government of ousted President Bashar al-Assad, the Interior Ministry said on Wednesday.
A ministry source, quoted by the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), said the suspect was arrested in the western governorate of Latakia.
The source said the detainee was responsible for sarin gas storage facilities and the production of chemical weapons during the Assad era but did not disclose the suspect’s identity or provide further details about the arrest.
The arrest comes days after the Executive Council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) adopted a decision restoring Syria’s rights and privileges under the Chemical Weapons Convention, following steps taken by the country’s new authorities to re-engage with the international watchdog.
Sarin gas was used in one of the deadliest chemical attacks of the Syrian conflict when forces of the former Assad government struck Eastern Ghouta and Moadamiyat al-Sham on Aug. 21, 2013. The attack killed more than 1,400 civilians, including hundreds of women and children, and injured more than 10,000 others, according to opposition groups and international organizations.
Following the attack, Syria joined the OPCW on Sept. 13, 2013. Later that month, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2118, requiring the destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons program.
An OPCW-UN Joint Mission subsequently oversaw the removal and destruction of Syria’s declared chemical weapons stockpile, a process completed in 2014.
However, the OPCW later concluded that the Assad government had failed to declare its entire chemical weapons program. Investigations by the OPCW’s Investigation and Identification Team attributed several chemical weapons attacks to Syrian government forces, including attacks on Ltamenah in Hama Governorate in March 2017 and Saraqib in Idlib Governorate in February 2018.
In April 2021, OPCW member states voted to suspend certain rights and privileges of Syria under the Chemical Weapons Convention after determining that the former Syrian government had used chemical weapons in violation of international law.
Since the political transition in Syria, the new authorities have pledged to cooperate with the OPCW. In November 2025, Syria reactivated its permanent mission to the organization in The Hague and appointed Mohammed Katoub as its permanent representative.