Growing fears over fate of Gaddafi’s chemical weapons
A Libyan rebel soldier fires .50 caliber machine gun rounds into the air, as his comrades watch, at the last outpost before Bani Walid from the northern road towards Misrata, near the village of Abdu Rouf, on September 05, 2011 near Misrata, Libya. Libyan rebels are concerned that Gaddafi loyalists still in Libya could have access to chemical weapons.
There are mounting questions about the fate of weapons stockpiled by ousted Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, many of which were left behind in armories when he and his loyalist forces fled into the desert.
Journalists and human rights groups say they have found warehouses in Libya full of missiles, grenades, gas masks, rockets and mines — as well as empty boxes, sparking questions about the fate of the weapons, the BBC reports.
There are also concerns that chemical weapons and missiles may have been looted or taken by Gaddafi's fleeing forces, and that some may end up in the hands of foreign governments or terrorist groups, the BBC says.
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"Libya's new leadership will need to continue to stand against violent extremism and work with us to ensure that weapons from Gaddafi's stockpiles do not threaten Libya's neighbors and the world," U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said in a speech in Paris last week.
The Washington Post reports that documents showing the shipment of thousands of gas masks and protective suits to Gaddafi strongholds in recent weeks have raised fears that Gaddafi's forces could have access to deadly mustard gas.
"Libyan rebels say they are concerned that Gaddafi holdouts could have access to the mustard gas and could use it in a last-ditch effort to halt advances by the opposition," the Post reports.
The chief of the U.N. watchdog on chemical weapons told the Associated Press on Wednesday that Libya's weapons stockpiles are believed to be secure.
Ahmet Uzumcu, director general of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, said his inspectors will return to Libya to oversee the destruction of Gaddafi's deadly gas supplies "when the conditions will allow us."