The United Nations has acknowledged continued obstacles in destroying Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal.

Officials said inspectors have been unable to reach key Syrian CW sites because of the Sunni revolt. They said this could prevent the destruction of the arsenal by the June 30, 2014 deadline.

“There are factors beyond our control,” UN special coordinator Sigrid Kaag said. “Above all, the security conditions in country are such that it’s an ongoing concern and it could also at any time derail our ability to meet deadlines.”

[On Dec. 5, the Syrian opposition said a rebel stronghold was struck by CW munitions. The Syrian Revolution Coordinators Union said the Syrian military targeted Nabak, a rebel-held town 68 kilometers northeast of Damascus.]

In a briefing on Dec. 4, Ms. Kaag said neither the UN nor the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in Syria was unable to travel along major roads in central and northern Syria. She said the roads were needed to transfer CW containers from facilities in Aleppo and Homs to the Syrian port of Latakia.

“There are security constraints that are serious,” Ms. Kaag said. “It’s a real issue.”

The international community has not destroyed Syria’s declared 1,300 ton CW stockpile. So far, no country has agreed to accept the toxins, although Denmark, Norway and the United States offered ships to transfer the CW from Syria.

Officials said the UN effort was up to 50 million euro short. They said the UN and OPCW needed special trucks, containers and Syrian staffers. “It’s a highly complex exercise, it is unprecedented and it takes place in an active war zone,” Ms. Kaag said.

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