France said on Wednesday anti-tank missiles it bought from the United States and were later found in a base were never intended for sale or transfer to any party to Libya's conflict.
The Defense Ministry said the US-made Javelin missiles were intended for the "self-protection of a French military unit deployed to carry out intelligence and counter-terrorism operations".
"Damaged and unusable, the armaments were being temporarily stocked at a depot ahead of their destruction," the ministry said in a statement.
The cache of four Javelin anti-tank missiles were discovered by forces loyal to the Government of National Accord led by Fayez al-Sarraj in Gheryan, in the mountains south of Tripoli, on June 26, the New York Times earlier reported.
