Libya Chemical Weapons destoyed -Minister

 
Libya has destroyed all its chemical arsenal, the country’s foreign minister has announced.

Mohamed Abdelaziz said that this included bombs and artillery shells filled with mustard gas. In 2004, Libya said it had 25 tonnes of sulphur mustard and several thousand unfilled aerial bombs for use with chemical warfare facilities.

Tripoli has committed itself to getting rid of all its chemical arms by signing the Chemical Weapons Convention.

“Libya has become totally free of usable chemical weapons that might present a potential threat to the security of local communities, the environment and neighbouring areas,” Abdelaziz said on Tuesday in the capital Tripoli.

 He added that this “would not have been possible in such a short time” without international support, including technical assistance from Canada, Germany and the US.

Libya’s foreign minister said the process was completed on January 26.

Abdelaziz was speaking at a joint news conference with Ahmet Uzumcu, the head of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

Uzumcu – who had visited the site in Ruwagha where the chemical weapons were destroyed last week – described the move as a “significant milestone” for Libya.

 He added that it was a “good example of international co-operation now emulated in Syria on a larger scale”.

The process began 10 years ago under the then Libyan leader, Col Muammar Gaddafi, when Tripoli joined the CWC.