LIBYA_ Libyan chemical weapons stockpiles intact, say inspectors

Libyan chemical weapons stockpiles intact, say inspectors

Chemicals declared under 2004 convention are in depot in south-east Libya, and further stocks may have been found

Reuters
guardian.co.uk, Friday 4 November 2011 15.12 GMT
Article history


Chemical containers in the Libyan desert. There are concerns unguarded weapons could fall into the hands of Islamist militants. Photograph: David Sperry/AP

Libya's stockpiles of mustard gas and chemicals used to make weapons are intact and were not stolen during the uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi, weapons inspectors have said.

The Hague-based Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said destruction of the materials would resume as soon as possible. However, it said the Libyan authorities had advised it on 1 November that further stocks of what are believed to be chemical weapons had been found, and that Libya would make a new declaration of its stocks soon.

An OPCW inspection team found that the full stockpile of mustard gas and ingredients for making chemical weapons were intact at the Ruwagha depot in south-east Libya.

After Libya joined the chemical weapons convention in 2004, it had to declare all of its chemical warfare materials and agree to destroy them. The former Libyan government declared 25 metric tonnes of bulk mustard agent and 1,400 metric tonnes of precursor chemicals used to make chemical weapons, the OPCW said.

It also declared more than 3,500 unfilled aerial bombs designed for use with chemical warfare agents such as mustard gas, and three chemical weapons production facilities. The destruction programme was halted in February because of a malfunction at the facility, after only part of the stocks had been destroyed, the OPCW said.

"The inspectors returned at the invitation of the new Libyan government and with its full co-operation," it said. "The OPCW will continue to work with the Libyan authorities to verify and destroy any newly declared stocks."

The abandonment or disappearance of some Gaddafi-era weapons has prompted concerns that such firepower could erode regional security if it falls into the hands of Islamist militants or rebels active in north Africa. Some fear they could be used by Gaddafi loyalists to spread instability in Libya.

Last month Human Rights Watch urged Libya's ruling national transitional council to take action over large numbers of heavy weapons, including surface-to-air missiles, it said were lying unguarded more than two months after Gaddafi was overthrown.

On Wednesday the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, said the UN would send experts to Libya to help ensure nuclear material and chemical weapons did not fall into the wrong hands.



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