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U.N. Experts In Syria Start Destroying Chemical Weapons

U.N. Expert Start Destroying Syria's Chemical Weapons
Reuters
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In this Thursday, Sept. 26, 2013 photo, Syrian displaced women cook a meal for dinner near Kafer Rouma, in ancient ruins used as temporary shelter by those families who have fled from the heavy fighting and shelling in the Idlib province countryside of Syria. Some 2 million people have fled Syria since the country?s uprising against President Bashar Assad erupted in March 2011, according to the United Nations. Over that time, more than 4 million Syrians also have been internally displaced within the country.(AP Photo)

BEIRUT, Oct 6 (Reuters) - A team of international experts began the process of destroying Syria's chemical gas arsenal on Sunday, an official on the mission said.

The official declined to give more details. Witnesses said the experts left their Damascus hotel in the early hours on Sunday for an unknown location.

The team consists of experts from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague and United Nations personnel assisting them in their work. It arrived in Damascus on Tuesday.

The mission, which Washington and Moscow hammered out after an Aug. 21 chemical weapons attack in Damascus prompted U.S. threats of air strikes against the Syrian government, is expected to continue until at least mid-2014.

The Syrian government and the rebels blame each other for the chemical incident in a Damascus suburb in which more than 1,400 were killed.

The United States and other Western countries say a report by U.N. investigators indirectly implicates government-allied forces for the attack.

More than 100,000 people have died in Syria's conflict, which began in early 2011 with peaceful demonstrations seeking more democracy but has deteriorated into sectarian civil war. (Reporting by Mariam Karouny; editing by Ralph Boulton)

Before You Go

Syria War In October (Warning: Graphic Images)
(01 of22)
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A man carries the body of a child allegedly killed by a pro-government forces sniper in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on October 2, 2013. At least 115,206 people have been killed in Syria's devastating 30-month conflict, most of them fighters from both sides, a monitoring group said on October 1. (KARAM AL-MASRI/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
(02 of22)
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A female rebel fighter fixes the scope of her Belgium made FAL rifle as she attends a training session at the Salaheddin district of the war-battered northern Syrian city of Aleppo on October 2, 2013. (KARAM AL-MASRI/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
(03 of22)
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In this Thursday, Oct. 3, 2013 photo, opposition fighters, sons of Mohammed Kale, walk at the frontline on the outskirts of Kfar Lata, a ghost village on the top of a mountain subdued under heavy shelling and bombardments due the fighting between opposition fighters and government forces in the Idlib province countryside of Syria. (AP Photo) (credit:AP)
(04 of22)
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In this Thursday, Oct. 3, 2013 photo, Mohammed Kale sits with his family at home in Kfar Lata, a ghost village in a top of a mountain subdued under heavy shelling and bombardments due the fighting between opposition fighters and government forces in the Idlib province countryside of Syria. (AP Photo) (credit:AP)
(05 of22)
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In this Thursday, Oct. 3, 2013 photo, the wife of Mohammed Kale stands with her granddaughter and grandson in the yard of her family house in Kfar Lata, a ghost village in a top of a mountain subdued under heavy shelling and bombardments due the fighting between opposition fighters and government forces in the Idlib province countryside of Syria. (AP Photo) (credit:AP)
(06 of22)
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In this Thursday, Oct. 3, 2013 photo, a granddaughter of Mohammed Kale picks up dry clothes from a laundry line at her family house in Kfar Lata, a ghost village at the top of a mountain subdued under heavy shelling and bombardments due the fighting between opposition fighters and government forces in the Idlib province countryside of Syria. (AP Photo) (credit:AP)
(07 of22)
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This citizen journalism image provided by Aleppo Media Center AMC which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows damaged buildings due to heavy fighting between government forces and Free Syrian Army fighters in Aleppo, Syria, Monday, Oct. 7, 2013. (AP Photo/Aleppo Media Center AMC) (credit:AP)
(08 of22)
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Syrian refugees from the Idlib province are seen in the ruins of the ancient Byzantine-Christian city of Serjilla, in the Jabal al-Zawiya region of the northwestern province, on October 8, 2013, where many families are residing after they fled their homes due to the ongoing conflict between government and opposition forces. ( MEZAR MATAR/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
(09 of22)
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A Syrian refugee sleeps under a make-shift shelter in the ruins of the ancient Byzantine-Christian city of Serjilla, in the Jabal al-Zawiya region of the northwestern province, on October 8, 2013, where many families are residing after they fled their homes due to the ongoing conflict between government and opposition forces. (MEZAR MATAR/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
(10 of22)
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Syrian refugees are seen in the ruins of the ancient Byzantine-Christian city of Serjilla, in the Jabal al-Zawiya region of the northwestern province, on October 8, 2013, where they are residing after they fled their homes due to the ongoing conflict between government and opposition forces. (MEZAR MATAR/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
(11 of22)
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Masked female rebel fighters walk alongside their trainer in a street at the Salaheddin district of the war-battered northern Syrian city of Aleppo on October 8, 2013. (KARAM AL-MASRI/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
(12 of22)
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In this Monday, Oct. 7, 2013 photo, night falls as smoke rises from the battlefield at the frontline in Maaret al-Numan in the Idlib province countryside of Syria. (AP Photo) (credit:AP)
(13 of22)
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In this Monday, Oct. 7, 2013 photo, smoke rises from the battlefield as opposition fighters carry out an attack on the Wadi al-Deef military post at the frontline in Maaret al-Numan in the Idlib province countryside of Syria. (AP Photo) (credit:AP)
(14 of22)
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Syrian residents walk by demolished buildings after a warplane bombed the residential area in Maaret al-Numan in the Idlib province, Syria, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2013. (AP Photo) (credit:AP)
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An abandoned Ferris wheel is seen among buildings damaged by fighting between opposition fighters and Syrian government forces in Maaret al-Numan in the Idlib province, Syria, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2013. (AP Photo) (credit:AP)
(16 of22)
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In this Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2013 file photo, A Syrian refugee boy sits on the ground at a temporary refugee camp, in the eastern Lebanese Town of Al-Faour, Bekaa valley near the border with Syria, Lebanon. With some 1 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon, or nearly 25 percent of the tiny Arab country's population, the guests from Lebanon's eastern neighbor are facing different kinds of racist behaviors by Lebanese. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File) (credit:AP)
(17 of22)
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In this Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2013 file photo, A Syrian refugee girl washes rice outside her tent at a temporary refugee camp, in the eastern Lebanese Town of Al-Faour, Bekaa valley near the border with Syria, Lebanon. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File) (credit:AP)
(18 of22)
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A Syrian refugee sits next to luggage at the entrance of the International Organization for Migration office as she waits with her family to board a bus to Beirut International Airport for a flight to Germany where they have been accepted for temporary resettlement, in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2013. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) (credit:AP)
(19 of22)
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Syrian refugees sit next to their luggage at the office of the International Organization for Migration while waiting with their family to board a bus to Beirut International Airport for a flight to Germany where they have been accepted for temporary resettlement, in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2013. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) (credit:AP)
(20 of22)
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Syrian refugees flash victory signs at the International Organization for Migration office as they wait with their family to board a bus to Beirut International Airport for a flight to Germany where they have been accepted for temporary resettlement, in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2013. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) (credit:AP)
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A physically disabled Syrian refugee sits in his wheelchair at the International Organization for Migration office as he waits with his family to board a bus to Beirut International Airport for a flight to Germany where they have been accepted for temporary resettlement, in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2013. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) (credit:AP)
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In this citizen journalism Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2013, file image provided by the United Media office of Arbeen, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, members of a chemical weapons investigation team with blue helmets speak with Syrian rebels in Damascus' countryside of Zamalka, Syria. (AP Photo/United Media office of Arbeen, File) (credit:AP)
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