Destruction of Syria's Chemical Weapons Begins

Experts from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the United Nations are supervising the destruction of "missile warheads, aerial bombs and mixing and filling equipment."

Authorities said Sunday is the first day of the dismantling process, and that it will continue for several days.

This inspection mission was agreed to by Washington and Moscow after an August chemical weapons attack in Damascus prompted U.S. threats of air strikes against the Syrian government. It is expected to continue until at least mid-2014.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said last month he would comply with the operation.

Developed during the 1980s and 1990s, Syria's chemical arsenal is believed to contain mustard gas and the nerve agents sarin, VX and tabun.

Call for dialogue

Also Sunday, U.N.-Arab League peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi urged Syria's warring parties to hold talks "without preconditions." He said he hopes negotiations can take place in Geneva in late November. Brahimi also expressed frustration with the stalled Syrian peace process, acknowledging he feels like resigning from his post.

The head of the peace envoy's office in Damascus, Mokhtar Lamani, said Sunday that sectarian hatred in Syria is on the rise and can result in "something very dangerous" unless the much delayed Geneva peace talks are successful.

"What we are witnessing now with the rise of sectarianism and some other problems of the conflict, of course, the ingredients are there for something very, very dangerous to happen if we don't reach a peaceful solution which is the only possibility to save Syria as well as the region," he said.

The head of the opposition Syrian National Coalition has said the group is ready to attend the peace talks if they aim to establish a transitional government.

Other opposition voices, including rebels inside Syria, said they are against talks as long as Assad remains in power.