Americas

Americas

UN reports Libya’s nuclear materials remain intact

22 December 2011 23:29 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The United Nations Security Council was reassured Thursday that none of Libya’s nuclear materials had gone missing and there appeared no risk of arms proliferation in the country, APA reports.

The head of the UN mission in Libya, Ian Martin, reported to the 15-nation council through a teleconference that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had on December 9 inspected the Tajoura Nuclear Facility in Tripoli and uranium concentrate storage in Sabha.

The IAEA found that "none of the previously recorded nuclear materials in either facility had gone missing," Martin said.

The Vienna-based nuclear watchdog also recommended the sale and transfer of about 6,400 barrels of nuclear materials in Sabha because the storage condition of barrels was deteriorating. It also reported that there was no risk of radiation.

"There appears no risk of proliferation, given the weight and state of the barrels," Martin added.

Martin also struck down the fear that surface-to-air missiles could spread to neighbouring countries.

He said that thousands of so-called MANPADS abandoned by troops loyal to the former Gaddafi regime had been looted, but remained within Libya and were held by revolutionary brigades or local militias.

Libya’s transitional government had also asked the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to study chemical weapons stocks, Martin said. He said the organization was scheduled to visit sites in Libya in January to verify declarations made by the Gaddafi regime.

In his briefing to the council, Martin reported on progress made by the transitional government to hold legislative elections in January and lay the ground for a new government next year.

He said that Tripoli welcomed the council’s unfreezing of Libyan state assets, worth more than 40 billion dollars, as it struggled to rebuild the country.

Most of the funds were held by the Central Bank of Libya and the Libyan Foreign Bank. The asset freeze was ordered in March, in retaliation for the killing of pro-democracy protesters.