Syria Misses New Deadline as It Works to Purge Arms

The New York Times reports that the Syrian government has missed a revised deadline for completing the export and destruction of its chemical weapons. Still, the government may be only days away from finishing the job.

“The Syrian government had agreed to complete the export or destruction of about 1,200 tons of chemical agents by April 27 after missing a February deadline, but by Sunday, it had shipped out or destroyed 92.5 percent of the arsenal, said Sigrid Kaag, the coordinator of the joint mission by the United Nations and the watchdog agency the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

“If Syria completes the process, it would be regarded as a critical step towards demonstrating its commitment to eradicating its entire chemical weapons program by the end of June, as the government had agreed in a deal negotiated by the United States and Russia, which was prompted by outrage over the Aug. 21 chemical weapons attack in a Damascus suburb.”

Assad Will Run for Re-Election on June 3

The AP reports that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has declared his candidacy in his country’s June 3 presidential elections.

“The statement, made by Parliament speaker Jihad Laham on state-run television, was quickly followed by broadcasts of nationalistic music praising God.

“Assad – who has ruled the country since taking over from his father in 2000 – was widely expected to run for a third seven-year term in office, although it remains unclear how the vote can take place in areas engulfed in fighting. Six other contenders are in the race, but they are mostly expected to give the election a veneer of legitimacy, analysts say.”

Syrian Rebels Who Received First U.S. Missiles Say It’s ‘an Important First Step’

Liz Sly of the Washington Post meets the Syrian rebels who received the first U.S. missiles of war and reports that they “are engaged in an ambitious effort to forge a new, professional army.

“Abdullah Awda, 28, says he and his recently formed Harakat Hazm – or Movement of Steadfastness – were chosen to receive the weapons because of their moderate views and, just as important, their discipline. At the group’s base, sprawled across rocky, forested wilderness in the northern province of Idlib, soldiers wear uniforms, get medical check-ups and sleep in bunk beds under matching blankets.

“The scene is a far cry from the increasingly pervasive view of a chaotic, ragtag rebel movement that has fallen under the sway of Islamist extremists. Such concerns have long deterred the Obama administration from arming the Syrian opposition. But the arrival at the base last month of U.S.-made TOW antitank missiles, the first advanced American weaponry to be dispatched to Syria since the conflict began, has reignited long-abandoned hopes among the rebels that the Obama administration is preparing to soften its resistance to the provision of significant military aid and, perhaps, help move the battlefield equation back in their favor.”

Syria Facing Worst Wheat Crop in 40 Years

Reuters reports that ongoing violence and now a drought have crippled Syria’s wheat crop, “with some experts now forecasting output of the staple food could fall to around a third of prewar levels, and possibly even below 1 million metric tons (1 metric ton = 1.1023 tons) for the first time in 40 years. It says: “The last time its wheat harvest failed to exceed 1 million metric tons was 1973, although catastrophic droughts have pushed the crop close to that level in 1989 and 2008.”

Agricultural experts and farmers gave the wire estimates “ranging from 1 million metric tons to 1.7 million at best, a more pessimistic range than that given by the United Nations earlier this month. Before the war, Syria produced around 3.5 million metric tons of wheat on average, enough to satisfy local demand and usually permit substantial exports, thanks in part to irrigation from the Euphrates River that waters its vast eastern desert.”

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