By Ahmed Elumami.
Tripoli, 10 September, 2013:
The UN arms embargo must be lifted for Libya to be able to secure its borders, . . .[restrict]members of the General National Congress (GNC) National Security Committee yesterday told UN official Mungo Woodifield.
The UN resolution 2095 issued in March 2013 kept in place, amongst other restrictions, the prohibition of arms imports and a freeze on Qaddafi-associated assets enforced by the UN Resolution 1973, issued in March 2011.
Woodifield is reported to have said that the UN Security Council was committed to helping the Libyan government protect its borders and territorial waters.
“We can’t secure the borders with Kalashnikovs,” a member of the National Security Committee, Sulaiman Elhaj, told the Libya Herald. “We need to buy proper weapons, including warplanes, to protect the border.” He added that the country needed money to buy this border support and that unfreezing the assets would free up funds to pay for enhanced border security.
Elhaj said that matters discussed at the meeting had special priority because resolving these issues would help contribute to the country’s stability.
There were no promises made by Woodifield, Elhaj said, but Congress has been asked to make a formal request in writing for consideration by the UN Security Council.
The meeting took place at the Congress headquarters and was attended by a number of GNC members, including the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wafa Boukaiqis. [/restrict]
