LibyaPolitics

Libyan army ‘discovers’ weapon shipments from Belgium to Derna in 2016

The Libyan National Army (LNA) discovered that weapon shipments were sent to Derna from Belgium in 2016, LNA spokesperson General Brigadier Ahmed Al-Mismari claimed on Wednesday.

During his weekly press conference, Mismari added that the Libyan military attaché in Serbia was involved in the operation and accused him of manipulating arm deals at the time.

Mismari said Chinese-made shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles were delivered to militants in Derna, noting that Ali Al-Salabi, a leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood in Libya, and Abdul Hakim Al-Hajaj, head of the Islamic Home Party, were responsible for the importation of weapons.

Meanwhile, Khalid Al-Sharif, deputy defense minister in the government of former Prime Minister Ali Zeidan, carried out the operation, according to Mismari.

The past period has seen controversy as some €10 billion of Libyan government funds, frozen as part of sanctions against the late Muammar Gaddafi’s inner circle, has mysteriously disappeared from a Belgian bank.

On Tuesday, the Libyan Investment Authority, (LIA) affiliated to the interim government in Benghazi, called on the Attorney-General to open an investigation into leaked information about the alleged transfer of funds from the LIA’s bank accounts in Belgium to “unknown” accounts.

The LIA in Benghazi demanded that the Attorney-General contacts his Belgian counterpart to uncover the “systematic” looting of Libyan assets.

However, the Tripoli-based LIA said in a statement there is no evidence supporting the claim that frozen assets in Belgium vanished, adding that the latest report of the U.N. panel of experts on Libya did not mention such violation.

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