Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 20, 1991                   TAG: 9103200459
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-4   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

U.S. CHARGES LIBYA MAKING POISON GAS

The new facility is near the existing poison gas factory at Rabta, a town about 60 miles southwest of the Libyan capital of Tripoli, one official said. "Large-scale" production of poison gas has been under way at Rabta since last summer, he added.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, declined to say how far the Libyans have come with the second plant.

"There is convincing evidence that Libya is continuing its chemical weapon program and may have begun construction of a second chemical warfare agent production plant in addition to the one operating at Rabta," said Rear Adm. Thomas Brooks, director of naval intelligence.

Brooks, whose comments appear in testimony prepared for a closed hearing earlier this month of the House Armed Services Committee, did not elaborate.

Libya keeps insisting the plant at Rabta produces medicines. Western reporters were invited to tour the plant in January 1990 but were not allowed.

Libya announced last March that arsonists had set fire to the plant at Rabta, and accused Israeli, American or German agents of setting the blaze.

German companies were the main contractors for the Rabta plant.

The White House initially said it had concluded the plant had been made inoperable by the fire. But intelligence officials subsequently revealed the fire was a hoax perpetrated by Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi to preclude any possibility of a U.S. bombing attack to destroy the facility.

The United States bombed Libya in 1986 to retaliate for what it said was a Libyan-backed attack on a German discotheque, in which an American soldier was killed. U.S. officials say Libya sponsors Palestinian terrorist groups.