Kadafi Moves Soviet Missiles, Launchers to Tripoli

WASHINGTON — Libya transferred six SAM-5 missiles and their launchers from Benghazi to Tripoli earlier this month in a move that may indicate Col. Moammar Kadafi is having problems obtaining arms from the Soviet Union, U.S. defense sources say.

The sources, who agreed to discuss the matter only if not identified, said the Soviet-made ground-to-air missiles and launchers were stripped from battery sites around Benghazi during the week of Sept. 7, loaded on a ship and then moved to the Libyan capital, where they were spotted Sept. 15.

According to the officials, American intelligence agencies have long assumed that Kadafi was pressing the Soviets to provide him more of the SAM-5s in order to deploy some around Tripoli and to replace those lost during U.S. bombing raid on the two cities in April, 1986.

The fact that Kadafi was forced to remove some from Benghazi “indicates he either doesn’t want to wait for a new shipment from the Soviets for some reason, or else that he’s having problems getting them from the Soviets,” one source said.

“We’re not sure which it is,” the source added.

Most Potent Weapon

The SAM-5 deployment inside Libya is a matter of keen interest to the Pentagon. Although of an old design, the SAM-5 is considered the most potent air-defense weapon available to the Libyans.

Unlike the SAM-2 and SAM-3 ground-to-air weapons that Libya also has acquired from the Soviet Union, the SAM-5 has a range of more than 150 miles and can be used against planes flying at high altitude.