(MENAFN) Syria has officially reinstated its permanent mission to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague, appointing Mohammed Katoub as the country’s ambassador to the watchdog, according to reports.

Earlier this month, Syria’s Foreign Ministry noted that the First Committee of the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution emphasizing a phase of constructive and advanced cooperation between Syria and the OPCW. On March 5, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani attended an OPCW Executive Council meeting for the first time.

Following the start of Syria’s uprising in 2011, forces loyal to former President Bashar Assad reportedly carried out 217 chemical attacks, according to human rights groups. Among these, the August 21, 2013 chemical attacks in Eastern Ghouta and Muadhamiyat al-Sham killed over 1,400 civilians, including hundreds of women and children, and injured more than 10,000.

Syria joined the OPCW on September 13, 2013, the same month the UN Security Council passed Resolution 2118 on the country’s chemical weapons. A joint UN-OPCW mission subsequently inspected and oversaw the destruction of Syria’s declared chemical weapons stockpiles, completing the operation on August 19, 2014. However, subsequent attacks involving chlorine and sarin, particularly in Aleppo, indicated that undeclared weapons remained in use.

In April 2021, the OPCW suspended certain membership rights of Syria after confirming chemical attacks in Latamneh (Hama province, 2017) and Saraqib (Idlib province, 2018), as reported.

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