Special to WorldTribune.com

CAIRO — Libya’s new government has confirmed that ousted Col.
Moammar Gadhafi kept chemical weapons in the North African state.

Libyan Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril said chemical weapons (CW) have been found in the
military arsenal of the late Gadhafi. Jibril said his interim government
planned to cooperate to remove the weapons agents.

“We would like to assure you that the new Libya will be a peaceful
Libya, and that it is in our interest to have no weapons in Libya,” Jibril said.

In a briefing on Oct. 30, Jibril did not detail Gadhafi’s CW arsenal.
He said international inspectors would arrive within days to take an inventory.

“There are international organizations taking care of this issue,”
Jibril said.

The United States as well as other NATO members have urged the post-Gadhafi government to secure CW as well as conventional weapons sites.
The United Nations Security Council has already determined that some of the
CW had never been declared by Gadhafi.

On Oct. 26, the UN Support Mission in Libya briefed the Security Council
on Gadhafi’s weapons of mass destruction arsenal. The council was told that
Libya contains a “large quantity of munitions, along with chemical, nuclear
materials and other non-conventional weapons.”

“While Transitional Council forces appeared to be controlling all
relevant chemical and nuclear material sites, centralized command and
control remained a concern,” the UN said. “It had become clear that there
were additional sites with previously undeclared weapons or materials that
the government would soon formally declare to the Organization for the
Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.”

The State Department has determined that Libya still contains 8.9 tons
of mustard gas, a leading CW agent. But the department maintained that both
Libya’s conventional and nonconventional arsenal remained under supervision.

The UN also determined that Gadhafi moved weapons to hospitals and
schools in Tripoli in an apparent effort to avoid NATO air strikes.
Officials said NATO has been working with the Libyan Defense Ministry to
inspect hundreds of sites that contained shoulder-fired anti-aircraft
missiles.

“In addition, mine action and its immediate funding was a key priority
for the United Nations, as were large quantities of unexploded ordnance and
ammunition in Sirte and Bani Walid,” the UN said. “In Tripoli, many
stockpiles were suspected in residential areas, including in schools and
hospitals, where they seem to have been moved by Gadhafi forces to conceal
them from air strikes.”

  Bani Walid, chemical weapons, Mahmoud Jibril, Moammar Gadhafi, New Libyan PM confirms UN report: Gadhafi had ‘large quantity of … non-conventional weapons’, Sirte, Tripoli, UN Support Mission