Libya weapons proliferation "major concern": UN

TRIPOLI: The proliferation of weapons in Libya is a serious issue and the country's new rulers need to start the process of elections soon if they are to keep their commitment to building democracy, the United Nations Secretary-General's special adviser on Libya said on Sunday.

"Proliferation of weapons is a major concern," the adviser, Ian Martin, said on a visit to Tripoli.

"It's a matter of moving from the current situation in which there are many people with weapons who are fighting in this conflict to one where there is a single public security force and the kind of proper state army that didn't exist in Libya in the past," he told Reuters in an interview.

"The National Transitional Council has made strong commitments to proceed along a democratic path and has made clear it would like United Nations assistance in that area and although elections may be a little way ahead that needs to begin soon to keep the commitment that they have made."

Copyright Reuters, 2011