Libyan militias could have gained possession of an old stockpile of chemical weapons in the central and southern provinces of Libya, according to Saudi-owned London Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat.
A video recording, obtained by Asharq Al-Awsat purportedly shows a group of militants testing the weapons in a mountainous area near the town of Mizda, 160 kilometres south of Tripoli.
In the footage, a man is seen firing a projectile, producing flames followed by a cloud of dense white smoke that covers a wide area, raising suspicions that the rebels had gained access to chemical weaponry.
Maltese security sources questioned the authenticity of the claims seeing as the remaining stockpiles of chemical weapons were meant to have been destroyed in an operation led by the US.
However, the news is still being taken very seriously. “We know that Libya was in possession of both sarin and mustard gases and it’s not implausible that in the fog of the conflict a portion of that could have gone missing but the many bits of threatening information coming out of Libya right now should be viewed with a measure of caution,” the source said.
We know that Libya was in possession of sarin and mustard gases
The sources noted that while warring factions jostled for power in the ongoing talks on a potential ceasefire, it could be useful for militant groups opposed to this sort of deal to fabricate such information.
The amount of chemical weapons in the country has long been the subject of controversy and former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is believed to have first started amassing his arsenal shortly after the revolution, more than 40 years ago. In 2004, however, the regime eventually succumbed to international pressure and handed over its weapons after joining the UN’s Chemical Weapons Convention.
After signing the convention, the country surrendered more than 24 metric tonnes of mustard gas, 1,390 metric tonnes of sarin and 3,563 unloaded shells.
Military sources have since told Asharq Al-Awsat they believed only 60 per cent of the weapons amassed by Col Gaddafi had been destroyed or handed over to the authorities.
More chemical weapons were found at a depot in the south of the country after the 2011 revolution. However, in 2014, the US and the UN claimed that the material had been destroyed.