DAMASCUS, Oct 3 — Nine disarmament experts tasked with implementing a UN resolution ordering the destruction of Syria’s chemical arsenal left their hotel today and headed for an unknown location, an AFP photographer said.

Two days after arriving in Damascus, the experts from The Hague-based Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) drove off in three UN vehicles.

The nine are part of a team of 19 experts who arrived on Tuesday to oversee the implementation of UN resolution 2118, which orders Syria’s chemical weapons destroyed.

The resolution was passed after a chemical attack near Damascus on Aug 21 that killed hundreds of people.

The OPCW mission is currently focusing its efforts on verifying information provided by the government on its massive arsenal.

The task is huge, as Syria is believed to have more than 1,000 tonnes of sarin, mustard gas and other banned chemicals stored at an estimated 45 sites across the country.

The mission is the first in OPCW history to take place in a war zone. — AFP