Iraq to help Libya in chemical weapons' disposal

Baghdad, April 13 (IANS) Iraq has agreed to help Libya in getting rid of its stockpiles of chemical weapons following a request from Tripoli, Xinhua reported.

"The Iraqi cabinet has accepted to provide the necessary technical assistance to the Libyan authorities to get rid of its chemical stockpile according to the criteria followed by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)," Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said in a statement Thursday.

The Iraqi decision came after Libya's representative to the OPCW, Mohammed Jibril, requested for such a help from Baghdad as it has "extensive and excellent experience in the field in disposal of chemical weapons", said Dabbagh.

During the 1990s, Saddam Hussien's regime was forced under the UN sanctions to destroy its large arsenal of chemical weapons.