International Institute for Strategic Studies 08 September 2011 - - BBC News - Fears over #Libya 's missing missiles iiss.org/whats-new/iiss…
Concern has been mounting over the fate of weapons stockpiles accumulated during the rule of fugitive Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi, many of which have been looted, or are left unguarded in warehouses.
Col Gaddafi and his loyalists built up extensive armouries during his four decades in power.
But now, six months after rebel forces took up arms against him, most of these sites lie abandoned after they were overrun in battles, or as troops guarding them fled.
This week, journalists in and around the Libyan capital, Tripoli have reported visiting buildings containing missiles, grenades, rockets and mines - all unsecured.
In one site, Peter Bouckaert, from the campaign group Human Rights Watch, says he found 100,000 anti-tank and anti-personnel mines.
But it is the empty boxes and containers which have sparked bigger fears.
'Destabilising risk'
While Libyan rebels have taken some of the weapons in recent months to arm their conflict against forces loyal to Col Gaddafi, it is unclear where the rest have ended up.
"The problem is that the locals usually find out first and by the time we arrive and we can get some guards there, a lot of the most dangerous weapons have already been taken away," Mr Bouckaert told AP.
Most notably, some empty boxes seen by reporters were marked as having held 9M342, which experts linked to the SA-24 Grinch, a Russian surface-to-air missile.
Mr Bouckaert said a group which managed to get hold of such weapons would be "capable of bringing down a civilian aircraft".
"I mean we are really talking about the kind of weapons that groups like al-Qaeda, and also Iran and other countries, want to get their hands on, for the technology," he said.
US and UN officials have urged the rebels to secure the sites, saying they risk destabilising the entire region.
In a speech in Paris last week, US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton expressed concern that weapons could be sold to Islamist groups on the black market.
"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 neighbours and the world," she said.
Ahmed Darrat, who is overseeing the interior ministry for the rebels, downplayed the threat, saying the threat of extremism was merely scaremongering. "Saying that there are armed extremists in Libya is what Gaddafi used to say," he told AFP news agency.
But Libya's geography leaves it vulnerable to such concerns, with al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) - an off-shoot of al-Qaeda - active in neighbouring countries such as Niger, Mali and Algeria.
On Wednesday, the EU's counter-terrorism coordinator, Gilles de Kerchove, said it was possible that AQIM had already acquired some of Libya's weapons, including the surface-to-air missiles.
Others have disputed his comments, with French Defence Minister Gerard Longuet saying measures were in place to prevent the spread of armaments.
