Summary A timeline of the main events since chemical weapons attacks near Damascus on August 21, 2013:
DAMASCUS (AFP) -
-- AUGUST 2013 --
- 21: Syrian troops launch an offensive in the Damascus suburbs. The opposition accuses the army of chemical weapons strikes east and southwest of the capital, including in Moadamiyet al-Sham where hundreds are killed. The government denies responsibility and blames rebels.
- 23: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says the use of chemical weapons would amount to a "crime against humanity". The United States mulls possible military strikes as Britain and France say the Syrian government was behind the attack.
- 26: Damascus ally Russia warns against military intervention without UN Security Council approval. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says the West has no proof to back claims Syria's regime used chemical weapons.
- 29: British lawmakers vote against military action.
- 30: A US intelligence report blames Syria's government for the attack with "high confidence" and says 426 children were among 1,429 people killed.
- 31: US President Barack Obama says he will ask Congress to authorise military action.
-- SEPTEMBER --
- 14: The United States and Russia agree on a plan to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons by the middle of 2014.
- 16: A UN reports says there is clear evidence that sarin gas was used on August 21.
- 27: The Security Council unanimously passes a landmark resolution ordering the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons.
-- OCTOBER --
- 6: A disarmament team, from the UN and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) starts work on destroying the weapons and production facilities in Syria.
- 14: The Chemical Weapons Convention comes into force for Syria.
- 31: The OPCW says all of Syria's declared chemical arms production equipment has been destroyed ahead of a deadline and that its entire declared stock of more than 1,000 tonnes of chemical weapons and agents are under tamper-proof seal.
-- NOVEMBER --
- 7: Inspectors have verified all but one of Syria's 23 declared chemical weapons sites, the OPCW says.
-- APRIL --
- 12: Syria's state television and militants swap accusations over an attack that reportedly caused "suffocation and poisoning" of residents in Kafr Zita, a rebel bastion in Hama province.
- 14: Syria has surrendered almost two-thirds of its chemical weapons, the OPCW says.
- 20: President Francois Hollande says France has "information" but no firm proof that the Syrian government is still using chemical weapons.
- 21: The United States says an industrial chemical may have been used in Kafr Zita, possibly by regime forces, and UN Security Council members on April 23 call for an investigation.
- 24: The OPCW says Syria has handed over 92.5 percent of its chemical weapons, three days before a self-imposed cut-off of April 27, by which Damascus aims to have its whole stockpile removed from Syrian soil.
- 25: Russia says it has proof the Syrian government was not behind new alleged chemical attacks.
- 27: The OPCW says Syria till holds nearly 8 percent of its chemical weapons arsenal as the deadline expires for it to be handed over.
