French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian urged the international community Tuesday to act to stabilize Libya and prevent it becoming a sanctuary for terrorists.
“We must act in Libya and mobilize the international community,” Le Drian told Le Figaro newspaper, adding he would bring up the issue at a meeting of EU defence ministers Tuesday in Milan.
Libya is experiencing its worst violence since dictator Moamer Gaddafi was toppled in a 2011 uprising, with the support of an international coalition led by France, Britain and the United States.
Last month, Islamist militias seized control of the capital Tripoli.
In the eastern city of Benghazi, birthplace of the anti-Gaddafi uprising, forces loyal to a renegade general are also fighting an offensive by Islamist insurgents.
Le Drian said the cities risked falling into the hands of “jihadists.”
Libya’s desert south, meanwhile, had become “a sort of hub where terrorist groups come to stock up, including on weapons”, he said.
Le Drian said French counterterrorism forces stationed in neighbouring Mali could move towards the border to prevent a spillover of the violence into Malian territory.
He also raised the possibility of bringing up Libya in the United Nations General Assembly.
GNA
