(Bloomberg) -- Libya appealed to the United Nations Security Council to lift an arms embargo on its government so that it can do more to fight Islamic State militants.
The request on Wednesday, backed by Arab nations led by Egypt, stopped short of seeking international military intervention after that prospect received a cool response from other countries.
Libyan Foreign Minister Mohammed al-Dairi spoke to the council days after Libyan militants claiming allegiance to Islamic State issued a video showing the beheadings of 21 Egyptian Christians, an action that provoked retaliatory airstrikes by Egypt.
Al-Dairi said the burden is on the international community to help his government or face “negative repercussions” in the region and beyond, including in Europe.
“If we fail to have arms provided to us, and training provided for our army, this can only play into the hands of the extremists,” he said.
In addition to lifting the arms embargo on the government, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry urged the council to redouble efforts to block arms shipments to militants by imposing a naval blockade to prevent such supplies from reaching ports not controlled by the Libyan government.
While not urging international military intervention, the Egyptian diplomat asked for a green light for nations to take action against terrorists, as Egypt has done with the airstrikes targeting militants in the city of Derna.
Adding to Chaos
The council should allow states wishing to assist the “legitimate Libyan government in confronting terrorism and imposing security to do so in light of the severe difficulties the legitimate government faces in that regard,” he said.
Jordan will circulate a draft resolution on the issue, he said.
Islamic State has added a new element of violence to the chaos in Libya, where the internationally recognized government is overshadowed by rival militia groups.
Egypt’s aerial attacks marked its first open military action in Libya, where a security collapse and a power struggle between Islamists and the elected government have driven the nation to the brink of chaos.
More than three years after airstrikes led by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization helped Libyan rebels end Muammar al-Qaddafi’s four decades of autocratic rule, the crisis in the holder of Africa’s largest oil reserves is posing a threat to its neighbors as well as European interests. Rome-based Eni SpA is Libya’s biggest foreign oil producer.
‘Fertile Ground’
The chaos in Libya is providing “fertile ground” for Islamic State, said UN Special Envoy to Libya Bernardino Leon, who has been seeking a political settlement among the major political factions in Libya.
“The international community must now ensure that it shoulders its legal and moral responsibilities to lend urgent support to restructuring our army by arming it, first and foremost, so that it can take action,” said al-Dairi.
The turmoil in Libya has consequences for Europe, said Italy’s UN ambassador, Sebastiano Cardi. So far this year, Italian coast guard and other European vessels have intercepted more than 5,300 migrants off the Libyan coast, a 60 percent increase from the period a year ago, he said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Terry Atlas in Washington at tatlas@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: John Walcott at jwalcott9@bloomberg.net Larry Liebert, Laurie Asseo
No comments:
Post a Comment