U.N. Urges Libya to Act over Weapons Threat

The U.N. Security Council on Monday called on Libya's interim authorities and neighboring countries to stamp out the spread of weapons from Moammar Gadhafi’s huge stockpile.

Amid mounting fears that militant groups in Africa and beyond could get shoulder-fired rockets and other weapons from the Gadhafi cache, the 15-member council unanimously passed a resolution demanding the clampdown.

Resolution 2017, drawn up by Russia, stressed international fears that the stockpile could cause unrest through Africa's Sahel region and fall into the hands of groups such as Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb.

The resolution called on Libya "to take all necessary steps to prevent the proliferation of all arms," especially man-portable surface-to-air missiles, MANPADS.

It also called on Libyan authorities to work with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to destroy new stockpiles.

The Security Council said states in the region should draw up measures to prevent the spread of the arms.

Since the death of strongman Gadhafi on October 20, Libya's transitional government has found two chemical weapons sites hidden by the old regime, experts said.

The U.N. envoy to Libya, Ian Martin, told the Security Council last week that international inspectors have to visit hundreds of suspected weapons stockpile sites in Libya.

Gadhafi’s regime "accumulated the largest known stockpile of anti-aircraft missiles" outside of producing countries, Martin said.

The MANPAD surface-to-air missiles can be used against civilian jets and other ordnance can easily be converted into car bombs and roadside explosives, according to experts.

"This resolution is a step forward for international cooperation to better fight the recurrent phenomenon of arms spreading through the region, especially the Sahel," said a Western diplomat on the Security Council, on condition of anonymity.

The Security Council asked the U.N. Libya sanctions committee and U.N. anti-terrorism experts to produce an assessment of the international threat from the weapons.