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Updated January 2006
Chemical Facilities: Overview
Although Egypt is rumored to have an extensive CW capability, only one facility is cited in reports as being involved in such a program: Abu Za'abal Company for Chemicals and Insecticides (also known as Factory 18). Being a developing country, Egypt has a strong agricultural base and accordingly, Abu Za'abal was created for producing pesticides and other chemicals. Western reports claim that the facility is being used as a cover for CW-related research and production. The Central Military Chemical Laboratories of the Egyptian Army are also identified in the open source sources as facilities associated with CW development. Information on these laboratories is scarce. There have been dubious transactions between Egypt and other countries dealing with dual-use precursor chemicals, but their final destination is not easily determined. If Egypt is indeed producing offensive chemical weapons, it is doing so under the guise of legitimate research institutions. It is worth noting again that the Egyptian Army is fully trained in CW defenses and has conducted military exercises simulating a CW attack. Given their use of CW agents in Yemen during the 1960s, it can be deduced that Egypt has familiarity with this weapon type. However, the extent to which it is producing chemical agents in an offensive manner remains to be determined.
Key Sources: "Egypt's Chemical Weapons Program," Federation of American Scientists, <http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/egypt/cw/index.html>; Dany Shoham, "The Evolution of Chemical and Biological Weapons in Egypt," ACPR Policy Paper No. 46, <http://www.acpr.org.il/publications/policy-papers/pp046-xs.html>, 1998; Dany Shoham, "Chemical and Biological Weapons in Egypt," The Nonproliferation Review, Spring-Summer 1998, Vol. 5, No. 53, pp. 48-58.
This
material is produced independently for NTI by the James Martin Center for
Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and
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verified by NTI or its directors, officers, employees, agents. Copyright © 2008
by MIIS.
