Rebel fighters seen inside the main Moammar Gadhafi compound in Bab al-Aziziya in Tripoli, Libya, Aug. 24, 2011 (Photo: AP)
The proliferation of weapons from Libya has continued at a worrying rate and spread into new regional territories, such as West Africa, the Levant and the Horn of Africa, the UN Security Council reveals in a report published on 9 March.
The report added that most "Libyan stockpiles" remained under the control of non-state actors as the state security apparatus is currently being reconstructed following of the ouster of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in 2011.
"Cases of illicit transfers from Libya, both proven and under investigation include trafficking by land and sea to more than 12 countries. Illicit flows from the country are fuelling existing conflicts and enriching the arsenals of a range of non-State actors in the region and beyond," the UN document stated.
The Security Council reached their conclusions after sending a panel of experts to assess the situation in the domestically-turbulent North African state. The information was gathered from UN member states, regional organisations and individuals after the panel visited almost 15 states and travelled to Libya 10 times.
Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan asked the UN Security Council on 27 February to lift an embargo on arms imports to Libya, according to AFP.
"At my meeting next week with the UN Security Council president, I will discuss the question of lifting the embargo," Prime Minister Ali Zeidan had revealed in anticipation to the official news agency.
"The issue will be discussed in all its aspects," he said after a meeting on efforts to rebuild the Libyan armed forces attended by Defence Minister Mohammed al-Barghati, chief of staff Yussef al-Manghush and several officers.
The Security Council imposed the embargo at the start of the 2011 uprising to protect the civilian population from Muammar Gaddafi's forces.
Libya has since been increasingly insecure, however, and authorities are struggling to form a new army as militias control large swathes of territory.
In mid-December, the authorities decided to seal off Libya's long and porous borders with Algeria, Niger, Sudan and Chad, declaring the south of the country a closed military zone.
The report mentioned that a number of brigades have now joined the Libyan army or "have links with formal security forces," ranging from a reallocation of resources under a more formal mandate or being assigned as "auxiliaries" in areas in which government forces have no presence.
However, the report argued that "most brigades remain in control of their own weapons."
The Security Council called for "further development" in efforts exerted by regular and non-state forces to control and manage weapons.
"While international partners, including UNSMIL, are supporting crucial efforts to secure weapons storage, these efforts are conducted only in certain parts of the country," the Security Council noted.
Meanwhile, the report described the security situation on the borders as the "greatest challenge" for the government as they are "long are difficult to control."
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