Background

The US said Friday that Syrian officials would be "held accountable" if they failed to safeguard the country's chemical weapons after a report suggested some were being moved out of storage.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that intelligence reports suggested some chemical weapons were on the move, but the reasons for the transfers were unclear.

It said some US officials feared the weapons could be used against rebels or civilians, while others believed the material was being deliberately hidden from armed opposition groups or Western powers.

"We have repeatedly made it clear that the Syrian government has a responsibility to safeguard its stockpiles of chemical weapons," spokeswoman for the US State Department Victoria Nuland told reporters.

Syria's armed forces have taken steps to secure deadly chemical weapons in response to mounting international concern that they could fall into rebel or terrorist hands or be accidentally damaged in fighting, according to Israeli officials.

Syria's undeclared chemical arsenal, the largest in the Arab world, is believed to include mustard gas as well as nerve agents such as Sarin, Tabun and VX, which have been "weaponised, tested and deployed", according to the Israelis, for whom Syria is a priority intelligence target.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iDByw1zdhSVlssmDYThQ2b914ugQ
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jul/13/syria-secure-chemical-weapons-israel