Tripoli armed group says arms spreading to regions

TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Weapons seized from sites in Tripoli have been taken to other parts of Libya by fighters who filled the capital to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi, a representative of one of the city’s armed groups said yesterday.

Abdelraouf al-Kurdi, a representative of fighters from Tripoli’s Souq al-Jum’a district, made the statement as Libya’s new leaders struggled to form a transitional government, in which roles allotted to regions was a key stumbling block.

“There is a proliferation of weapons, either from the old regime or from people who, after the 20th, entered warehouses and took weapons,” he said, referring to the day last month when fighters launched the assault that drove Gaddafi from power.

Concerns have been raised that militias could mushroom along regional lines and undermine the central authority that Libya’s new leaders are trying to establish.

Interim government forces operate in disparate units based on their home towns, with little overall command.