Syria ships first batch of chemical weapons material

By Oliver Holmes and Erika Solomon BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syria has started exporting chemical weapons material out of the country in a crucial phase of an internationally-backed disarmament program delayed by war and technical problems. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said Tuesday that “priority chemical materials” had been transported to the port of Latakia and onto a Danish ship that was now sailing to international waters. Syria agreed to give up its chemical weapons by June under a deal proposed by Russia and agreed with the United States after an Aug. 21 sarin gas attack that Western countries blamed on Syrian forces. President Bashar al-Assad. Damascus accuses rebels of being responsible for the attack. War, bad weather, bureaucracy and technical problems meant that the December 31 deadline for removing Syria's deadliest toxins was missed. The OPCW did not reveal what percentage of Syria's toxic arsenal – which totals 1,300 tonnes – had been removed, but said nine containers containing the most dangerous chemicals were on board the Danish cargo ship. “The ship was accompanied by naval escorts provided by Denmark and Norway, as well as the Syrian Arab Republic,” a statement said. “It will remain at sea awaiting the arrival of additional priority chemical materials at port.” Maritime security is provided by Chinese, Danish, Norwegian and Russian ships. Government forces have regained control of the highway linking Damascus to the coast, necessary for transporting toxins. Rebels have been driven out of three towns along the route, but activists say convoys using it will remain vulnerable to rebel ambushes. Washington welcomed the withdrawal of chemical materials and said Assad's government appeared to be sticking to the deal. “There is still much to be done,” State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said at a news conference, adding: “We have no reason to believe that the regime has returned to a any aspect of his promise. REBEL FIGHTS On the battlefield, Syria's bloodiest rebel fighting since the war began nearly three years ago has prompted the leader of a rebel group linked to Al-Qaeda to call for a ceasefire between opposition factions. An audio recording of the leader of the powerful al-Nusra Front, known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, blames much of the fighting on an al-Qaeda splinter group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and in the Levant (ISIL). While both groups have roots in the global Islamist network and welcome foreign militants, Nusra Front has cooperated more with other rebel groups and largely avoided the power struggles that ISIL has faced since its inception. he wrested control of many areas controlled by the opposition from other groups. “Many rebel units committed transgressions, just as the erroneous policies followed played a significant role in fueling the conflict,” Golani said. ISIL is also fighting in Iraq, where it faces an army tank and artillery attack around the city of Fallujah, whose local leaders have urged Qaeda-linked militants to leave before being attacked . ISIL gunmen want to reconquer Iraq's Anbar province in a bid to create a radical Islamic state out of the chaos of the civil war in neighboring Syria. More than 274 people have been killed in clashes between rebels in Syria since they began on Friday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition monitoring group. LEGAL COUNCIL Golani proposed forming an Islamic legal council to resolve disputes between rebels and called on militants to return to their common goal of fighting Assad's forces, as the campaign to oust the Syrian leader nears completion. end of his third year. It was not possible to verify the audio statement, but it was posted on a Twitter account used by the Nusra Front. “This unfortunate situation has pushed us to launch an initiative to save the battlefields from loss. This will be done by forming an independent legal council bringing together all (rebel) factions in addition to a ceasefire,” he said. Golani said. Rebel groups, many of them also radical Islamists, last week launched what appeared to be a series of coordinated strikes against IS in northern and eastern Syria after months of growing tensions with the group, which have alienated many Syrians in rebel-held areas. In one region of northwest Syria alone, other rebel groups appear to have killed 34 foreign ISIL fighters, the Observatory said. Fighting resumed Tuesday between ISIL and other groups, the OSDH said. Fifteen died in the town of Rastan, north of the central city of Homs, and in Aleppo, rebels took control of a police station where around 100 ISIL fighters were based. The ISIL fighters surrendered themselves and their weapons to the Nusra Front, the statement said. Golani urged rebels not to divide between foreign and local fighters, arguing that all were needed to launch jihad, or holy war, in the country. The campaign to overthrow Assad has degenerated into a civil war with the emergence of several sectarian and ethnic struggles, as well as infighting that is currently ravaging the rebels. Golani urged the rebels to exchange prisoners and open roads to all opposition units. Syria's Western-backed opposition in exile has postponed until next week a decision on whether to participate in talks with Assad's government aimed at ending the conflict, opposition members said Tuesday . The National Coalition is facing strong pressure from Western powers to participate in the Jan. 22 negotiations in Switzerland, seen as the most serious effort yet to find a political solution to the civil war. He has said he is ready to attend the negotiations in principle, but says they must lead to Assad's departure – a demand Damascus has categorically rejected – and has repeatedly blocked his final decision. The latest delay came after at least a quarter of the coalition called on its newly re-elected president Ahmad al-Jarba to step down during a meeting in Turkey and threatened to resign if his demand was not met, they said. indicated sources present at the meeting. (Additional reporting by Omar Fahmy, Alexander Dziadosz, Doina Chiacu and Dasha Afanasieva; editing by Giles Elgood and David Stamp)