The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and Syria’s interim authorities have uncovered a previously undisclosed cache of chemical weapons dating back to the Assad regime, raising new concerns about regional security should additional stockpiles fall into the wrong hands. The discovery was detailed in the OPCW’s May 26 monthly update on Syria’s chemical weapons program.

Inspectors identified dozens of undeclared chemical munitions that closely resemble those used in several well-documented attacks, including the March 2017 bombings in Ltamenah, Hama, and the April 2017 strikes in Khan Shaykhun, Aleppo. The weapons also included rockets similar to those deployed in the August 2013 sarin attack on the Ghouta agricultural belt near Damascus, an assault that killed hundreds and remains one of the deadliest chemical weapons incidents of the 21st century.

Syria’s permanent representative to the OPCW in The Hague, Mohamad Katouh, told Reuters that the country has arrested 18 individuals suspected of involvement in the chemical weapons program. Katouh described the recovery of these munitions as a significant achievement, emphasizing that the weapons were secured before they could be employed in any further attacks.

OPCW Director-General Fernando Arias called the operation “significant,” highlighting long-standing suspicions that Syria had withheld information and attempted to mislead the international community about the true scope of its chemical weapons arsenal. “It confirms the secretariat’s repeated assessment since 2014 that the former Syrian regime withheld information and unsuccessfully attempted to mislead the secretariat and the international community,” Arias stated on May 27.

Ibrahim Olabi, the interim government’s representative to the United Nations, described the find as a “decisive turning point” in holding accountable those responsible for Syria’s chemical weapons legacy. He noted the interim government’s cooperation in facilitating 32 OPCW inspection visits and providing more than 60,000 pages of documents, underscoring Syria’s commitment to eradicating its chemical weapons stockpiles following more than a decade of suffering.

Analysts point to the discovery as reflecting a broader political shift in Syria since the fall of the Assad government. Nanar Hawach, senior Syria analyst at the International Crisis Group, suggested that efforts to uncover and dismantle chemical weapons stockpiles have accelerated under the new leadership, which views cooperation as a way to gain relief from sanctions and reintegration into the international community.

Since February 2025, when OPCW Director-General Arias met with Syria’s new government officials reaffirming all OPCW mandates, Syrian authorities have reiterated their commitment. Foreign Minister Assad Al-Shaibani echoed these pledges during a March 2025 address to the OPCW executive council, calling for international support in completing the chemical weapons dismantlement.

Despite these developments, experts warn that the risks remain high. The newly recovered stockpiles pose ongoing dangers if not fully secured and destroyed. Hawach cautioned that while the current discoveries are significant, “the material already recovered but still in storage, and the far larger amount buried at sites no one has reached, could slip into the hands of groups like Daesh, which have previously used chemical weapons.” He emphasized that minimizing the risks will depend on the extent and speed of future search and destruction efforts.