Libya: Us and other powers ready to arm governments against Islamic State

The United States and several world powers are ready to help internationally recognized governments of Libya with weapons to counter Islamic State. It would be possible an exemption to an arms embargo imposed on the country. According Associated Press, the decision is stated in a communique prepared for the end of top-level talks on Libya.

The United States, the permanent members of U.N. Security Council and more than 15 other nations participating at the talks are “ready to respond to the Libyan government’s requests for training and equipping” government forces.

“The Government of National Accord has voiced its intention to submit appropriate arms embargo exemption requests to the UN Libya Sanctions Committee to procure necessary lethal arms and materiel to counter UN-designated terrorist groups and to combat Daesh throughout the country,” said the communique, “we will fully support these efforts while continuing to reinforce the UN arms embargo.”

Daesh means Islamic State.

Libya descended into chaos after the toppling and death of Moammar Gaddafi five years ago and soon turned into a battleground of rival militias battling for powers. More recently, says AP, the power vacuum has allowed Islamic State radicals to expand their presence, giving them a potential base in a country separated from Europe only by a relatively small stretch of the Medierranean Sea.

Immigration and refugees issue is a big problem for Eu and Italy too.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier warned against undue optimism. “The key question is whether Libya remains a place where terrorism, criminal human smuggling and instability continues to expand, or if we are able, together with the government of national unity to recover stability,” he told reporters ahead of the meeting. “That, at present, is an open question.”