Ostend airport is thinking of filing an official complaint after allegations of illegal arms trafficking to Libya reported by Het Laatste Nieuws on Wednesday. “I have not read the article, and will not read it. This sounds to me like a deliberate smear campaign and we are considering legal options; they are attacking our collaborators’ integrity,” pointed out Marcel Buelens, CEO. “We have heard nothing about an official investigation; if there is one, we will fully cooperate.”
Information reported by Het Laatste Nieuws originally came from African sources, but United Nations experts allegedly already expressed doubt as to its veracity, according to the daily paper.
The Libyan sources cited said that arms transiting through Ostend airport are going to Islamists opposed to the government. The Boeing 747 which left Ostend for Libya last week allegedly carried all sorts of ammunition and light anti-aircraft artillery. The same sources were unable however to explain where the arms found on board came from. They mention however that Ostend flights land in UAE regularly, a country recently proven to be the starting point of weapons headed for Libya.
(Source: Belga)
