The Libyan Foreign Minister in the Tobruq government Mohamed Al-Dairi told Russia Today that his country does not need any foreign intervention to cope with security challenges.
“At this stage, we are not seeking any international intervention,” Al-Dairi said.
The Tobruq government will not ask for any airstrikes against “Islamic State” (IS) locations or any terror groups, but it will request that the UN to lift the embargo on his army, to be able to access “adequate weaponry”. This should happen once the national unity government is formed, according to Al-Dairi.
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) levied sanctions against Libya, including an open-ended embargo on the supply of arms and military equipment to and from Libya in 2011 due to the oppression of Qaddafi’s regime on demonstrators.
Recently, the Tobruq government, backed by Egypt, requested an end to this embargo in a formal petition to the UN Security Council. However, the request was denied.
Al-Dairi also stressed that Libya is not receiving any tangible support from theWwest, hoping for more support in the future in the field of training.
Al-Dairi reported that a contingent of US military forces had arrived at the Al-Wattayah military base in the country’s west to train Libyan troops.
However, the US soldiers allegedly fled local militias shortly after arriving, according to a US Pentagon statement.
“The current situation is not conducive to having smoothly working relationships with the outside world,” he added hoping that forming the new national unity government will allow the Libyan Army to get the support it “badly needs,” including “adequate” arms supplies.
In the same interview with the Russian-owned TV channel, Russia Today, he expressed optimism regarding the UN-backed agreement signed in Morocco, that it would work within Libyan communities, as “tribes and civil society groups” are giving legitimacy to the deal with their support.
Members from both conflicting parties in Libya singed a UN backed agreement to form a government of national unity, but the heads of the two parliaments refuse to recognise the agreement urging for internal Libyan negotiations.
Some Western countries are allegedly preparing for active military engagement in Libya, despite official denials.
The Guardian reported last week that the UK expects to be asked by the new government to send troops to Libya, suggesting that as many as 1,000 British soldiers could be deployed alongside Special Forces personnel.
“If any action would take place, it must be conducted in cooperation with the Libyan army and within the framework of fighting terrorism,” the spokesperson of the Libyan national army Mohammed Hegazi said, referring to the February Egyptian airstrikes in Libya against IS training sites and weapons stockpiles in Derna that were executed in cooperation with the Libyan army.
The spread of militancy in Libya has become a source of concern for the international community.
The country, which has two rival governments still seeking a permanent agreement, is a principal destination for those who want to illegally immigrate to Europe. IS forces have made advances amid the civil conflict that dominates Libya.
Libya may require international aid to face such challenges, a member of Tobruq Parliament Abu Bakr Ba’eera told Daily News Egypt.
“We may need such acts provided that they are executed in cooperation with both the army and the parliament,” Ba’eera added.
