Syria scatters chemical arms to avoid detection

The Syrian Army has been moving stockpiles of chemical weapons to as many as 50 sites in an attempt to make it difficult for US forces to track them, the Wall Street Journal has reported.
A secret Syrian military unit has been tasked to shift stocks of poison gases and munitions to various locations across the country, according to the report, which cited American and Middle Eastern officials.
Officials told the WSJ the move by “Syria's elite Unit 450 could complicate any US bombing campaign in Syria over its alleged chemical attacks.” The Journal reported that the Syrian military has been moving the stocks around for months and as recently as last week, as quoted by AFP.
Despite the redistribution, both US and Israeli intelligence agencies still believe they know where most of the weapons are situated, according to the Journal.
Saudi Arabia, France, the UAE and Jordan have agreed to strengthen the Syrian opposition in its battle against Assad’s regime, the French presidency said Friday.
After a meeting in Paris, French President Francois Hollande and foreign ministers from the three countries “agreed on the need to strengthen international support for the democratic opposition to allow it to face attacks by the regime,” the Elysee said in a statement.
The statement said they agreed on the “need to remain firm with Bashar Assad’s regime, to dissuade him from again using chemical weapons and to have him commit to negotiations on finding a political solution to the Syrian crisis.”
It said the regime’s “obstinance” was helping “extremist movements” and “threatens regional and international security.”
France said Friday that the Syrian regime's announcement that it had joined a ban on chemical weapons was not enough and called for a binding UN Security Council resolution.