DHAKA: Syria still holds around eight per cent of its declared chemical weapons material, as the deadline for it to be handed over expired on Sunday, the task force overseeing the operation said.

Sigrid Kaag, head of the joint Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons-UN team overseeing the destruction of the arsenal said ‘7.5-8.0 percent’ of Syria’s chemical weapons material remained in-country at ‘one particular site’.

‘However, 92.5 percent of chemical weapons material removed or destroyed is significant progress,’ she said, reports The Straits Times.

‘We also however need to... ensure the remaining 7.5-8.0 percent of the chemical weapons material is also removed and destroyed.’

BDST: 1916 HRS, APR 27, 2014