by Natalie de Vallieres and Biodun Iginla, BBC News, Rome
2 hours ago
Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said his country could send troops as part of a UN peacekeeping mission, if a truce were to be agreed.
Egypt is also pushing for action over Libya, ahead of the UN meeting.
In a statement, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said the growing insecurity in the country was "a clear threat to international peace".
Egyptian jets this week bombed alleged IS targets in Libya, in response to the release of a video that appeared to show the militants beheading 21 Egyptian Christians.
Militias have been battling for control in Libya since 2011. The country has two rival governments - based in Tripoli and Tobruk.
On Wednesday, a military jet reportedly conducted an air strike on an airport in the town of Zintan, which is controlled by the internationally recognised Tobruk government.
Officials told the Reuters news agency that the attack had been ordered by the Tripoli-based authorities. There were no reports of casualties.
The deepening crisis in Libya has alarmed Italy, its former colonial power.
The Italian government has attributed a recent spike in the flow of migrants, attempting the sea crossing to its shores, to the worsening situation in Libya. A video released this week by the IS-linked militants also contained a threat to Italy.
"The deterioration of the situation on the ground forces the international community to move more quickly before it's too late," Mr Gentiloni said, in a special address to parliament.
"There's a clear risk of alliances between Daesh and local groups," he said, using the Arabic acronym for IS.
He said the Security Council meeting on Wednesday had to deliver clear signs that the scale of the crisis had been acknowledged.
Italy, he said, would be ready to help monitor a potential ceasefire in Libya, as well as help train its national army.
However, he cautioned that this could only happen under the auspices of a broader, internationally agreed ceasefire.
Egyptian officials have suggested that a US-led bombing campaign against IS in Syria and Iraq could be extended to Libya.
Egypt has also called for weapons to be made available to the authorities in Tobruk.
Libya has been under an arms embargo since the 2011 uprising that drove out the former president, Col Moammar Gaddafi.
Egyptian state TV earlier this week said the country's aircraft had bombed IS camps, training sites and weapon storage areas near the city of Derna.
The attacks came hours after a video emerged on Sunday showing militants forcing a group of men to the ground and decapitating them.
The kidnapped Egyptian workers, all Coptic Christians, were seized in separate incidents in December and January from the coastal town of Sirte in eastern Libya, which is under the control of Islamist groups.
2 hours ago
Italy has urged swift action at the
UN to tackle the Libyan conflict, highlighting the risk that the
country's warring militias may side with Islamic State militants.
The UN Security Council is due to meet to discuss a response to the conflict.Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said his country could send troops as part of a UN peacekeeping mission, if a truce were to be agreed.
Egypt is also pushing for action over Libya, ahead of the UN meeting.
In a statement, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said the growing insecurity in the country was "a clear threat to international peace".
Egyptian jets this week bombed alleged IS targets in Libya, in response to the release of a video that appeared to show the militants beheading 21 Egyptian Christians.
Militias have been battling for control in Libya since 2011. The country has two rival governments - based in Tripoli and Tobruk.
On Wednesday, a military jet reportedly conducted an air strike on an airport in the town of Zintan, which is controlled by the internationally recognised Tobruk government.
Officials told the Reuters news agency that the attack had been ordered by the Tripoli-based authorities. There were no reports of casualties.
The deepening crisis in Libya has alarmed Italy, its former colonial power.
The Italian government has attributed a recent spike in the flow of migrants, attempting the sea crossing to its shores, to the worsening situation in Libya. A video released this week by the IS-linked militants also contained a threat to Italy.
"The deterioration of the situation on the ground forces the international community to move more quickly before it's too late," Mr Gentiloni said, in a special address to parliament.
"There's a clear risk of alliances between Daesh and local groups," he said, using the Arabic acronym for IS.
He said the Security Council meeting on Wednesday had to deliver clear signs that the scale of the crisis had been acknowledged.
Italy, he said, would be ready to help monitor a potential ceasefire in Libya, as well as help train its national army.
However, he cautioned that this could only happen under the auspices of a broader, internationally agreed ceasefire.
Arms embargo
Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has called for a UN resolution allowing international forces to intervene in Libya.Egyptian officials have suggested that a US-led bombing campaign against IS in Syria and Iraq could be extended to Libya.
Egypt has also called for weapons to be made available to the authorities in Tobruk.
Libya has been under an arms embargo since the 2011 uprising that drove out the former president, Col Moammar Gaddafi.
Egyptian state TV earlier this week said the country's aircraft had bombed IS camps, training sites and weapon storage areas near the city of Derna.
The attacks came hours after a video emerged on Sunday showing militants forcing a group of men to the ground and decapitating them.
The kidnapped Egyptian workers, all Coptic Christians, were seized in separate incidents in December and January from the coastal town of Sirte in eastern Libya, which is under the control of Islamist groups.
No comments:
Post a Comment