LOC23:04
20:04 GMT
LONDON, July 31 (KUNA) -- Scientists from the UK Ministry of Defence are to
provide training which will support the Iraqi Government's efforts to dispose
of remnants of the chemical weapons amassed during Saddam Hussein's regime, it
was announced here tonight.
Under an agreement signed in Baghdad, experts from the MoD's Defence
Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) will provide training to Iraqi
personnel, which will help them to safely dispose of partially destroyed
chemical munitions and agents, along with other contaminated materials, the
MoD announced.
The materials are contained in two sealed bunkers at the old Al Muthanna
Chemicals Weapons Complex, a large site in the western desert some 80km
north-west of Baghdad, which was the principal manufacturing plant for both
chemical agents and munitions during Saddam Hussein's rule.
Thousands of tonnes of chemical weapons were produced, stored and deployed
by the Saddam Hussein regime. Iraq used these weapons during the Iran-Iraq war
(1980 to 1988) and against the Kurds in Halabja in 1988, the Ministry added in
a statement.
Following the Gulf War to Liberate Kuwait in 1991, most of Iraq's chemical
munitions were destroyed under supervision of UN inspectors (UNSCOM) and the
partially destroyed contents of these two sealed bunkers are all that remain
of those legacy weapons.
The Chemical Weapons Convention, which Iraq joined in 2009, requires that
although the material is unusable and does not pose a significant security
risk, it must be disposed of.
The nature of the material contained in the two bunkers will make the
destruction process difficult and technically challenging.
The UK has therefore agreed to provide training to Iraqi personnel at
Dstl's site in Porton Down - a world-leading centre of excellence for chemical
defence, the MoD went on. The training will take place later this year and
will teach technical personnel how to safely handle toxic chemicals.
The team at Dstl will also offer training to Iraqi medical personnel on how
to deal with the health risks associated with the material.
Armed Forces Minister Nick Harvey said: "We were glad to support Iraq when
it joined the Chemical Weapons Convention in 2009.
One of the key obligations of member states is to destroy any chemical
weapons it possesses, so the UK is delighted to be able to help Iraq by
providing world-leading expertise and high quality training to Iraqi personnel
involved in this difficult and dangerous task." (end)
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