DHAKA: The global chemical weapons watchdog has called for a ceasefire in Syria to enable it to destroy the stockpiles.

The organisation’s chief, Ahmet Uzumcu, said the deadline for destroying equipment was ‘extremely tight’, but was possible if truces were agreed.

Some early work of the inspectors was disrupted when they came under fire.

Under a UN resolution, Syria’s chemical weapons production equipment must be destroyed by 1 November and stockpiles must be disposed of by mid-2014.

‘If some temporary ceasefires can be established, I think those targets could be reached,’ said Uzumcu, head of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

He told reporters in The Hague that Syrian authorities had so far been co-operative, according to the BBC.

He said the inspectors had 20 sites to visit in the coming weeks and had so far completed inspections at one facility.

An inspections team came under sniper fire on 26 August, but there have been no reported attacks on inspectors since.

BDST: 2333 HRS, OCT 09, 2013
RoR/RIS