The final stockpile of Syria 's chemical weapons has been shipped out of the country , according to the OPCW , the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons . Ahmet Uzumcu , the chief of the international watchdog organization , said the weapons were loaded Monday aboard the Danish ship Ark Futura and departed the Syrian port of Latakia . `` A major landmark has been reached today , '' Uzumcu said , qualifying that that meant all `` declared '' weapons were out of the country . `` We can not say for sure it has no more chemical weapons , '' Uzumcu said . `` All we can do is work on the basis of verifying a country 's declarations of what they have . I would not make any speculation to possible remaining assets , substances , chemical weapons . ... `` It has been more than a year since the Obama administration said that Syria had crossed a `` red line '' with its use of chemical weapons during the nation 's civil war , which has raged since 2011 . In August 2013 , U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky told reporters that a team of experts had gathered to go to Syria to investigate reports of chemical weapons . Later that month , video and witness accounts appeared to support the allegations that scores of people killed outside the Syrian capital of Damascus had been poisoned with chemical weapons . The nonpartisan Doctors Without Borders then reported that three hospitals near Damascus treated more than 3,000 patients suffering `` neurotoxic symptoms . '' In September , U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon released the inspectors ' report , which says there is `` clear and convincing evidence '' that sarin , a nerve agent developed for chemical warfare , was used in the Damascus attack . Later that month , the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution requiring Syria to eliminate its chemical weapons arsenal , and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad promised to adhere to the resolution . The following month , Syria began dismantling its chemical weapons program . The OPCW reported that Syrians were using torches and grinders to destroy or disable weapons such as missile warheads and aerial bombs . But in February , the OPCW told CNN that Syria had shipped out only 11 % of its chemical weapons stockpile . That happened after a February deadline ordering that all chemical arms be removed from Syria had passed . While Monday brought an apparent end to a chapter regarding Syria 's chemical weapons , talks to achieve some semblance of peace in the country continue and , on the ground in Syria , trauma and bloodshed continue . On June 20 in New York , Ban gave an impassioned speech about the war in Syria . It 's possible that more than 150,000 people have died since the war began , but the U.N. chief said it may be impossible to get an exact count of how many have lost their lives . Half of Syria 's population of 22 million has been displaced , and a flood of refugees are struggling to put their lives back together in neighboring countries such as Lebanon , Turkey , Jordan and Iraq , Ban said . `` The international community must not abandon the people of Syria and the region to never-ending waves of cruelty and crisis , '' he implored . `` The greatest obstacle to ending the Syria war is the notion that it can be won militarily . ... `` No one is winning ; no one can win . Even if one side were to prevail in the short term , the devastating toll will have sown the seeds of future conflict . ''
Organisation for Obama : Bashar al-Assad has left Syrian port of Syria . `` A major landmark has been reached , '' Obama chief says . It 's been 2011 since Obama said Syria crossed `` red line '' with use of chemical arms .