A spokesman for the international weapons inspectors in Syria has confirmed they have visited three sites so far across the country, working on a tight schedule to destroy its chemical arms stockpile and program.

The U.N. has tasked the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to rid Syria of its stockpile by mid-2014 — the tightest deadline ever given to the OPCW and the first conducted amid a civil war.

Twenty-seven inspectors are meant to visit over 20 sites, at times having to cross rebel-held territory to reach some sites. The U.N. hopes to organize cease-fires between rebels and government forces to ensure safe passage.

In The Hague, OPCW spokesman Michael Luhan said Thursday the first series of sites on the inspectors' list are "relatively securely" within government-held territory.

AP