Arab League urges military support for Libya against ISIL

Emergency meeting backs government's call for help but stops short of endorsing air strikes against extremists.

Cairo // The Arab League on Tuesday pledged military support to help Libya’s internationally recognised government fight ISIL, but did not publicly agree to a request for air strikes against the extremists.

“The Arab League affirms that given the difficult situation, there is an urgent need to quickly put an Arab strategy in place that includes assisting Libya militarily in confronting Daesh’s terrorism,” the permanent representatives to the bloc said after a meeting in Cairo.

The extraordinary meeting was held in response to the Libyan government’s plea for measures to confront ISIL, which has seized the coastal city of Sirte.

The government, based in eastern Libya, on Sunday called for Arab air strikes against the extremists after ISIL fighters in Sirte put down a local revolt against their rule, killing rival Muslim clerics, desecrating the bodies of prisoners and seizing new ground.

“The Libyan air force is not capable of conducting air strikes against Daesh in Sirte,” Libya’s foreign minister Mohammed Al Dairi said in opening remarks to meeting on Tuesday.

“Libyan national security is Arab national security ... Libya is suffering and we are fed up with the atrocities of the terrorist groups.”

The UAE deputy permanent representative to Arab League, Khalifa Al Tunaiji, extended the country’s condolences to relatives of the victims in Sirte, saying: “Terrorism, which is damaging Libya and threatens its territorial integrity and stability, cannot be in any way considered a political trend but a crime against innocent people.”

Libya was plunged into chaos after the ouster and killing of dictator Muammar Qaddafi in 2011, and now has two rival governments and parliaments, as well as several militia groups battling to control its oil wealth. ISIL, which already controls large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria, has exploited this chaos, notably taking control of Sirte, 450 kilometres east of Tripoli, in June.

In February, the extremist group claimed the beheading of 21 Coptic Christians in Libya, mostly Egyptians, prompting air strikes by Cairo inside its western neighbour.

Since then, Egyptian president Abdel Fattah El Sisi has pushed for a joint Arab military force to fight extremists in the region. Arab leaders approved the setting up of the force at a summit in March, and army chiefs have so far met twice in Cairo to work out the details. A third meeting is scheduled to be held in the Egyptian capital on August 27.

Cairo’s representative to the Arab League, Tarek Adel, said his country would keep pressuring the international community to lift an arms embargo and provide assistance to Libya’s military.

The UN arms embargo has been in place since 2011 and was renewed by the security council in March. However, the council allowed for a sanctions committee to review requests for exemptions. The UN members are concerned that weapons could fall into the hands of any number of armed groups.

Mr Al Dairi said ongoing UN-brokered talks to form a national unity government should not “obstruct” arming the military to fight ISIL.

Egypt’s representative said fighting terrorism should run “parallel” to the political process, and “requires urgent movement on the international and regional levels to dry up the sources of terrorism and their finances and to lift the arms embargo”.

“What is surprising is that double standard with which the international community is dealing with the threats of Daesh,” Mr Adel said. “There is energy and work when it comes to pushing it back in Syria and Iraq, but ignoring the same group’s practices in Libya.”

In a statement over the weekend, Egypt’s foreign ministry sharply criticised the international coalition, saying that “despite our constant urging, it has refused to be more emphatic, decisive and swift in its response to Daesh. This has undoubtedly undermined international efforts to combat terrorism in the region.”

Meanwhile, Tunisia said it would reopen its airspace to flights to and from Libya as safety standards in its neighbour’s airports had improved.

Tunisia, hit by two major militant attacks this year, has banned the flights since March, fearing more violence could spill over from Libya.

Most other foreign airlines and embassies withdrew from Libya after security collapsed following the overthrow of Qaddafi.

But Tunisia remains a major refuge and transit point for Libyans trying to escape violence.

“The decision came after audits carried out by security teams in ... eastern and western Libyan airports,” Tunisia’s transport ministry said.

* Agence France-Presse and Associated Press