Scant information is publicly available about Syria's chemical weapons program. According to intelligence estimates, the program is believed to have at least seven major installations and anywhere from 45 to 60 minor ones, controlling an estimated 1,000 metric tons of chemical weapons. A majority of these sites are located in the western core of the country. It is also believed that portions of the arsenal are highly mobile and able to be transported easily in ground vehicles. The regime is believed to have moved some of its stockpiles to the coastal region as the civil war has progressed. The two overarching fears pertaining to the chemical weapons are their use in Syria's civil war, or the possibility that they could fall into undesirable hands. The ongoing fighting has made both of these scenarios a real potential threat, forcing various Western governments to consider intervention .