PRESS RELEASE

Churkin Tells UNSC, Libya Is
Training Terrorists against Syria

March 7, 2013 (EIRNS)—Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin told the UN Security Council on March 6 that the Libyan government, a handmaiden of Britain, U.S., and France, is running a training center for Syrian rebels and arming the fighters in their battle to overthrow the country's President, Bashar al-Assad.

"We have received information that in Libya, with the support of the authorities, there is a special training center for the Syrian revolutionaries, and people are sent to Syria to attack the legal government. ... This is completely unacceptable. ... This activity is undermining stability in the Middle East."

Churkin also questioned whether "the export of revolution" was "turning into the export of terrorism."

Libyan Prime Minister Abdurrahim El-Keib did not respond to Churkin's accusation that his government is training Syrian rebels. In October, Libya was one of the first foreign states to recognize the Syrian National Council as the country's legitimate authority.

Last September, London's The Times revealed that a large shipment of weapons has arrived in Turkey to be delivered to the armed groups in Syria. "A Libyan ship carrying the largest consignment of weapons for Syria...has docked in Turkey," said The Times in an article published on March 1. The article's writer, Sheera Frenkel, said most of the Libyan ship's cargo was making its way to the armed groups inside Syria.

Arms have been shipped from Libya to support Syrian fighters since almost immediately after the fall of Muammar Qaddafi, according to an international cargo shipper based in the Mediterranean, who said the movement of arms is well-known in Benghazi. The source, who for years has run multiple cargo ships between Libya, Turkey, and other countries in the region, questioned why countries like the U.S. aren't using those routes as well to help anti-Assad forces. According to The Times report, the source told Fox News:

"We did it before, taking arms into Libya to support the rebels, and it worked. I don't see why we don't do it now and take the arms to help the Syrians fight Assad,"