You're reading: Arms watchdog suspects Belarus-Libya transports

An arms trade watchdog says it suspects that Libya received a shipment of military equipment from Belarus as Moammar Gadhafi's regime started a bloody crackdown on anti-government protesters.

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, or SIPRI, says an Ilyushin 76 aircraft left a military base near the Belarusian city of Baranovichi and landed at the Libyan airport of Sebha in mid-February.

That was before the U.N. Security Council adopted a weapons embargo on Libya.

SIPRI arms trafficking expert Hugh Griffiths said Monday the plane was believed to have carried "stockpiled military equipment."

He also said a Libyan government plane has made two flights to Belarus in the past week, though it was unclear who was on board or what cargo it was carrying.