UN: Weapon proliferation, Gaddafi loyalists threaten Libya security

Jan 25, 2012, 17:45 GMT

New York - An abundance of weapons and the continued existence of diverse armed groups in Libya represent a continued threat to the country's security, the UN said Wednesday.

The proliferation of weapons in the wake of the overthrow of the regime of Moamer Gaddafi has also worried Libya's neighbouring countries, Ian Martin, the UN special envoy for Libya, told the UN Security Council in New York, which convened in a regular meeting on Libya.

Martin said the armed 'brigades' from Misrata and Tripoli, with unclear lines of command and control, triggered clashes in Tripoli and other cities, inflicting fatalities and injuries upon the population.

He said Libyan transitional authorities have been able to contain the violence.

'There is the ever present possibility that similar outbreaks of violence could escalate and widen in scope,' Martin said.

The council also heard Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, who urged the transitional government to address judicial-related and human rights problems, some deriving from the former regime. She cited the plight of more than 8,500 Libyans detained in 60 detention centres throughout the country, the majority of them accused of being Gaddafi loyalists and subject to harsh conditions.

'The lack of oversight by the central authorities creates an environment conducive to torture and ill-treatment,' Pillay said, adding that the punishment is happening in some detention centres.

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