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| Africa North |
| Egypt says Libya must lead any attack on IS |
| 2016-02-12 |
| [Libya Herald] Egypt has warned that attacks on IS in Libya should be spearheaded by Libyans and that the international community should not intervene militarily before a unified and stable government has been formed. Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shoukry told Rooters today that precipitate international action against IS could end up replicating the NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... intervention against Qadaffy that produced Libya's present troubles. Shoukry said that, on past experience, Libyans would be a little bit concerned at a further foreign military involvement. He echoed the stance of UNSML chief Martin Kobler that Libya should have a unity government that was operating from Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... as soon as possible. Kobler had been endorsing the view of House of Representative president Ageela Saleh, who earlier this week was in Cairo where he met Egyptian president Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi. Sisi has reportedly also maintained close touch with Government of National Accord prime minister-designated Faiez Serraj, whom he met for the first time last December. Egypt has long called for the lifting of the UN arms embargo to allow the Libyan army led by Khalifa Hafter to re-equip to take on terrorist who continue to hold out in Benghazi. Hafter has repeatedly announced the imminent conquest of the western parts of the city and the port area where IS, Ansar al-Sharia ...a Salafist militia which claims it is not part of al-Qaeda, even though it works about the same and for the same ends. There are groups of the same name in Libyaand Yemen, with the Libyan versions currently most active. Tunisia's Shabaab al-Tawhid started out an Ansar al-Sharia and changed its name in early 2014. It still uses the old name now and then, probably because the stationery's not all used up and the web site hasn't expired yet... and the Benghazi Revolutionaries Shoura Council continue to hold out. The international community is still sending mixed messages about any military intervention. Though the official line remains that no action will take place until formally requested by the new Libyan government, there is growing frustration at the delays in the selection of GNA ministers, which cabinet will then have to be approved by the HoR. Some politicians, including Italian defence minister Roberta Pinotti have suggested that military intervention might be necessary in an emergency, even without a request for counter-terrorist support from the new government. Meanwhile, ...back at the comedy club, Boogie sadly admitted that he was a better peeping Tom than he was a comedian... though the British defence minister Philip Hammond has denied reports that the UK is prepared to commit a thousand combat troops, a foreign office minister, Tobias Ellwood this week told a British parliamentary committee that the Royal Air Force had been flying surveillance missions in Libya airspace. |
| Posted by:Fred |