Al-Qaeda May Benefit From Libyan Crisis – Russian Minister
By Ria Novosti
Al-Qaeda may gain from the situation in Libya, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday.
“Unfortunately, there is information that Al-Qaeda and other terrorists have a chance to benefit from the current situation in Libya,” Lavrov said.
Soviet-made man-portable air-defense missile systems that the Libyan military and rebels possess could fall into the hands of terrorists amid unrest in the North African country, the head of Russia’s Center for Analysis of World Arms Trade said last month.
Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi also last month expressed fears that Osama Bin Laden could take control of Libya and turn it into “a second Afghanistan.”
Gaddafi previously blamed the unrest on al-Qaeda and Bin Laden.
The UN Security Council adopted a resolution imposing a no-fly zone over Libya on March 17, paving the way for the military operation against embattled Libyan leader Gaddafi that began two days later. The command of the operation was shifted from a U.S.-led international coalition to NATO in late March.
