Syria removes 80% of chemical weapons while attacks continue

The United Nations says that Syria has removed 80% of its chemical weapons stockpile and that it should be able to meet an April 27 deadline to remove its entire declared stockpile if the momentum continues at the current pace. The anncouncement comes shortly after the release of amateur video footage allegedly showing the aftermath of a chlorine gas attack in a village north of Hama.

While the footage cannot be independently verified, it is alleged by activists that the Assad government carried out the attack in the village of Kafr Zeta and the footage shows what appears to be both adults and children being treated for breathing difficulties. The attack is thought to be the third in the past week, with both government and rebels blaming each other for the attacks.

The removal of chemical weapons from Syria has been seen as a prerequisite to preventing pro-opposition countries from intervening militarily in the conflict. The deal to remove the weapons was reached in September 2013, with the UN Security Council agreeing on the current timeline. Sigrid Kaag, special coordinator of the United Nations and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) joint mission applauded the speed at which the mission was proceeding. "The renewed pace in movements is positive and necessary to ensure progress towards a tight deadline," Kaag said in a statement.

Chlorine was not included in the list of chemicals that Assad was required to give up or destroy by the UN, as it has industrial and non-military uses.

The controversy over assigning blame for the chemical attacks in Syria was further enflamed after the publication of an article by the American investigative journalist Seymour Hersh in the London Review of Books which alleged that Turkey had been involved in conducting a false flag Sarin gas attack in Ghouta, Homs on August 21st 2013. The article provoked a mixed response from analysts who questioned the likelyhood of the Turkish government carrying out such an attack in which hundreds or even thousands of people died.

On Sunday, the French President Francois Hollande said that France has "information" but no firm proof that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime is still using chemical weapons.

"We have a few elements of information but I do not have the proof," Hollande said in a radio interview after he was asked about reports that Assad was currently using chemical weapons. "What I do know is what we have seen from this regime is the horrific methods it is capable of using and the rejection of any political transition."

A report released by the London-based Network for Human Rights on Thursday said that, out of the 150,000 people thought to have been killed in Syria's three year conflict, nearly 15,000 have been children.