Posted on 08/17/2015 12:07:59 PM PDT by csvset
Libya's internationally recognised government appealed to Arab states over the weekend to launch air strikes against militants allied to the Islamic State (IS) group who have expanded their hold on the eastern coastal city of Sirte.
"The Libyan government, unable to ward off these terrorist groups because of the arms embargo, and out of its historic responsibility toward its people, calls on brotherly Arab countries ... to launch airstrikes against specific targets of [Islamic State group] locations in Sirte in coordination with our relevant agencies," the statement said.
The statement came late on Saturday as the IS affiliate seized control of a new neighbourhood in Sirte after shelling the area, killing a senior cleric and hanging the bodies of four rival fighters over bridges.
Cairo has repeatedly called for international action against the IS group in Libya, appealing for UN intervention in February and warning that the Libyan unrest threatens the whole region. Egypt launched its own air strikes inside Libya that same month, after Islamic State militants killed 21 Egyptian Christians who were being held hostage in the country.
IS militants seized control of most of Sirte in June, beheading 12 local militiamen who had been battling them in the east of the city and hanging their bodies on crosses, the official LANA news agency reported.
The fighting intensified earlier this week after a rival Islamist group of Salafist Muslims, backed by a local tribe, refused to pledge allegiance to the IS group and called for a revolt. Witnesses said IS fighters had seized homes, refusing to allow residents to return until they searched them for weapons and sending residents fleeing. The IS group affiliate posted pictures on social media showing what it had seized from the newly conquered neighbourhood in Sirte, including trucks and ammunition.
The Arab League said it would hold an emergency meeting Tuesday in Cairo to address the Libyan unrest.
West condemns 'barbaric' acts
The Libyan government’s statement also condemned the failure of the international community to take action against the group's rise amid the chaos that has persisted in the country since the 2011 overthrow of longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi, which Western nations helped precipitate.
The United States, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Britain issued a joint statement on Sunday condemning the "barbaric" acts recently carried out by the Islamic State group in Libya.
"We are deeply concerned about reports that these fighters have shelled densely populated parts of the city and committed indiscriminate acts of violence to terrorize the Libyan population," reads the statement, which was released by the US State Department.
The Western governments called on the parties in Libya "to join efforts to combat the threat posed by transnational terrorist groups exploiting Libya for their own agenda".
The situation in Sirte underscores the "urgent need for parties in Libya to reach agreement on forming a government of national accord that, in partnership with the international community, can provide security against violent extremist groups seeking to destabilize the country", the statement said.
"There is no military solution to the political conflict in Libya,” it added.
Two governments, a failing state
Libya is embroiled in a political conflict that is threatening to turn it into a failed state. Two rival governments – the internationally recognised winner of June 2014 elections based in Tobruk and another Misrata-based faction that controls the capital, Tripoli – continue to fight for dominance, with each controlling its own political institutions and military forces.
Libya is in desperate need of a functioning government to assert control over its numerous armed factions, which united to overthrow Gaddafi but have since refused to disarm and cede control to a central authority.
The BBC has reported that up to 1,700 armed groups are now active in Libya – some of them secular, others Islamist, with loyalties further divided along regional, ethnic and tribal lines. Militias and tribal fighters have seized the country’s main oil ports, commandeering the OPEC member’s main source of revenue.
Without a functioning central government, Libya has become a safe haven for foreign terrorist organisations as well as human-traffickers. A lack of border controls has made the country a popular route for shipping weapons to al Qaeda militants in sub-Saharan Africa as well as a travel corridor for Syria-bound foreign jihadists.
Numerous Libyan militias have pledged loyalty to the Islamic State group. An Islamist faction formerly known as Majlis Shura Shabab al-Islam, which pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group in June 2014, has links to Ansar Al-Shari'a, the faction thought to be behind the 2012 attack on the US consulate in Benghazi.
Rival Libyan factions restarted peace talks aimed at creating a unity government earlier this month, with representatives of the rival Islamist government based in Tripoli, the General National Congress, joining the negotiations after boycotting the last round in July. A partial deal was reached in June, but the Congress rejected the agreement, calling it "unsatisfactory".
Yeah, you SOBs have blood on your hands.
We came , we saw, he died. Thanks team clinton/obama.
Quite right - nothing like Obama and Hillary for stabbing anyone helping the USA in the back.
To be accurate, the Hillary/Obama/McCain assassin stabbed Ghaddafi in his rectum. There are images.
Call Her Thighness. She has a plan.
Ah, we issued a strongly worded statement, that will have ISIS shaking in their sandals.
How’s that Arab Spring working out?
This is great “payback!”
Did they come to help us when we needed it????????? What? NO!
Now, they need our help and EXPECT our “weak kneed” politicians to come to their aid.
They dug their own graves and now can lay in them to sleep.
Last week General Ray Odierno retired after 39 years in the Army and on his way out said President Obama has never spoken directly with him about a plan to defeat ISIS.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
