Traders from the Libyan capital Tripoli have been selling RUAG weapons and Swiss grenade launchers on the Internet, according to the “SonntagsBlick” newspaper. The paper refers to a report by the Australian weapons research centre ARESExternal link and photo documents. Libyan Facebook users with direct links to armed groups are among those wanting to buy, it says.
Swiss state-owned defence contractor RUAG and defence supplier Brügger and Thomet AG both confirmed to the newspaper that the photos were pictures of their products, says SonntagsBlick, but it is unclear how the weapons arrived in the war-torn region.
This comes after the Swiss government in June decided to relax arms export rules, making exports to countries with an internal armed conflict possible under certain conditions.
Questioned by “SonntagsBlick”, conservative-right defence minister Guy Parmelin defended the move but said arms exports to countries like Libya and Syria would not be allowed.
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If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.