MESOP SYRIA INSIGHT NEWS

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said that Syria will miss the June 30 deadline for the complete elimination of its chemical weapons stockpile. In a May 23 letter to the U.N. Security Council, Ban noted that 7.2 percent of the regime’s declared chemical arsenal remains in Syria and the government insists it doesn’t have control of security in the areas where the materials are stored. He urged Syria to conclude “the remaining removal operations as quickly as possible, as the authorities have pledged to do.” In a speech at West Point, U.S. President Barack Obama pledged to increase support for the moderate opposition in Syria’s war though U.S. officials said measures are in the early stages. Meanwhile, a U.S. citizen suspected of involvement with al-Nursa Front has conducted a suicide truck bombing in the northern Idlib province, in what is believed to be the first time an American has participated in such an attack in Syria.