Libya: Algeria, Libya sign accord to fight cross-border arms trade

Algiers, 9 Feb. (AKI) - Algeria and Libya have signed an agreement to crack down on an illicit cross-border arms trade that has boomed following the fall of late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, according to an Algerian news report.

According to government intelligence, the arms entering Algeria come from the Libyan arsenals raided after rebels took the capital Tripoli putting an end to 42 years of Gaddafi rule, Algerian newspaper Ennahar reported on Thursday.

The accord, signed Wednesday in Algerian capital Algiers by the general secretaries of the two countries, was done to pave the way for visit later this month by Libyan interior minister Fawzi Abd al-Aal, the report said. His trip to Algeria marks the first official visit to neighbouring Algeria by a Libyan minister since the fall of Gaddafi.

A United Nations report in January said armed groups like Al-Qaeda and Boko Haram in African countries like Niger, Chad and Nigeria could have access to stolen large arms like missile launchers.

During the civil war journalists and human rights organisations reported on looted weapons depots that were left unguarded after soldiers loyal to Gaddafi fled.