President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said that what was happening in Libya was a threat to world peace and security.
His
remarks came as Egyptian jets bombed IS targets in response to a
militant video of the apparent beheadings of 21 Egyptian Christians.
Libya has been in chaos since 2011, with militias battling for control of territory and two rival governments.
But
the BBC's Jim Muir says there is little international appetite for
military involvement and the emphasis remains on trying to find a
political and diplomatic solution to the country's problems.
'Clear danger'
Mr Sisi spoke by phone to French President Francois Hollande and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi about the Libya situation.
He has also sent Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri to New York for consultations with UN officials.
"What is happening in Libya is a threat to international peace and security," the president said.
Mr Sisi sees IS in Libya as a threat to Egyptian and international security
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry
said in a statement quoted by the AP news agency that "immediate and
effective" action was needed and maintaining the status quo constituted a
"clear danger".
It also urged the US-led coalition conducting air
strikes against IS in Iraq and Syria to give political and material
support to Egypt.
'Threat to Europe'
Meanwhile,
the Egyptian Ambassador to the UK, Nasser Kamel, told the BBC that
Libya was a problem for Europe in particular because of its closeness to
Italy.
"[There are] boat people who go for immigration purposes
and try to cross the Mediterranean," he said. "In the next few weeks if
we do not act together, there will be boats full of terrorists also."
Italy
has said it is prepared to lead an international force in Libya, but
only if rival factions can be persuaded to cease fighting.
Mr Renzi's office said after the talks with Mr Sisi that the two sides agreed that the next moves should be diplomatic.
There was open grief in Al-Our, Egypt, where many of the Coptic Christians were from
Strikes 'to continue'
Egyptian state TV said the air strikes - at dawn on Monday - had targeted camps, training sites and weapons storage areas.
Libyan
officials said Egypt hit targets in the militant-held city of Derna and
had been co-ordinated with the country's internationally recognised
government. Between 40 and 50 people had been killed, they said.
Media captionThe BBC's Orla Guerin: "In the village of Al-Our, grief echoed through the streets"
Several
hours later, the AP news agency quoted unnamed security officials as
saying that Egyptian warplanes had again struck Derna.
Military sources said the action would continue but there would be no need for ground troops at present.
The
strikes came in response to a video which 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.
The video of the beheadings was posted online by
Libyan jihadists who pledge loyalty to IS. It was one of the first such
videos to come from an IS group outside its core territory in Syria and
Iraq.
The video describes the Copts as "crusaders" and refers
among other things to two women, wives of Coptic priests, whose alleged
conversion to Islam triggered a sectarian dispute in Egypt in 2010.
At the scene: Orla Guerin, BBC News, Al-Our, Egypt
Thirteen of the dead men came from the village of Al-Our, in Minya.
Screams
of grief come from several houses in the dusty back streets, and groups
of black-clad women go from house to house to offer condolences. One
woman, wailing in the street, tells us she has lost five relatives.
In the packed courtyard of the church, mourners are gathering for a memorial service.
Local
men say they are desperate for work and Libya is their only hope of a
job. Many say they still have relatives working there, and that
villagers will continue to go there in search of work. Follow Orla Guerin on Twitter
The
BBC's Jim Muir says anger has been felt throughout Egypt by Muslims and
Christians alike, and the killings are being seen as an attack on
national dignity.
Egypt is already fighting Islamist insurgents based in the Sinai peninsula who have declared their allegiance to Islamic State.
Libya is home to a large community of both Muslim and Coptic Egyptians, with most working in the construction sector.
But Libya has been in chaos since 2011 and the overthrow of its then-leader, Col Muammar Gaddafi.
It has two rival governments, one based in Tripoli and the other in Tobruk.
The
eastern city of Benghazi - where the 2011 revolution began - is largely
in the hands of militant fighters, some with links to al-Qaeda.
Libya's rival power bases
Tripoli: government appointed by old parliament that challenged legitimacy of last year's elections
Tobruk: internationally recognised government, ousted from capital not long after 2014 election
Both backed by loose alliance of militias focused on local interests
Benghazi: second city and headquarters of 2011 Revolution, largely in hands of Islamist fighters, some with links to al-Qaeda
Misrata: third city and main port, also loyal to Tripoli authorities. Its militias keep them in power.
No comments:
Post a Comment