Special to WorldTribune.com

CAIRO — Libya has become a venue for arms smuggling.

Libyan sources said weapons were being flown to airports controlled by in locations throughout the country. The weapons were being recorded as commercial equipment, including air conditioners.

“Libya is now governed by armed militias with weapons and money,” Libyan political activist Mohammed Saleh said.

Over the last few weeks, the military confirmed arms smuggling attempts. The military reported the seizure of a shipment of light and medium weapons in a flight to the eastern Libyan city of Tobruk on Feb. 14.

Other weapons shipments were reported on March 1 and March 3. The March 1 shipment went to the air base in Tobruk, and two days later militias seized a weapons delivery at Tripoli International Airport.

The sources said the smuggling was conducted by Libya’s powerful militias, which control much of the eastern portion of the North African state. They cited the showdown by militias that hold oil export terminals with Libya’s new military.

Former Prime Minister Ali Zeidan has accused the Tripoli government of secretly sending weapons to Syria. Zeidan, who was dismissed in early March, did not elaborate.

But a leading journalist, Reda Fheel, agreed. Fheel, citing United
Nations reports, said Libya became a hub for weapons smuggling throughout
the Middle East and Africa.

“These weapons are being smuggled into at least 14 countries and are
inflaming conflicts on several continents,” Fheel told the Maghrebia
website, sponsored by U.S. Africa Command.

  Ali Zeidan, Libyan militias flush with cash from arms smuggling network, Mohammed Saleh, Tobruk