Reuters, Cairo :
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi urged the United States and Europe on Thursday to help the Libyan army in its fight against Islamist militants now to save the country from requiring intervention on the scale of Iraq and Syria.
Sisi said there was a danger to the region from conflict in Libya where two governments vie for legitimacy, one in Tripoli linked to Islamist militias, and an internationally-recognised government in the eastern city of Tobruk.
Egypt says militants cross the border to help Egyptian jihadist group Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis attack Egypt’s security forces in the Sinai Peninsula. Ansar swore allegiance earlier this month to Islamic State, which is now facing U.S.-led air strikes in Iraq and Syria.
“When we deal with terrorism only in Iraq and Syria, Libya will begin to be an attractive region affecting the stability of… Libya and its neighbours. We will need the same measures happening in Iraq and Syria to be taken in Libya,” Sisi said in an interview with France 24.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi urged the United States and Europe on Thursday to help the Libyan army in its fight against Islamist militants now to save the country from requiring intervention on the scale of Iraq and Syria.
Sisi said there was a danger to the region from conflict in Libya where two governments vie for legitimacy, one in Tripoli linked to Islamist militias, and an internationally-recognised government in the eastern city of Tobruk.
Egypt says militants cross the border to help Egyptian jihadist group Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis attack Egypt’s security forces in the Sinai Peninsula. Ansar swore allegiance earlier this month to Islamic State, which is now facing U.S.-led air strikes in Iraq and Syria.
“When we deal with terrorism only in Iraq and Syria, Libya will begin to be an attractive region affecting the stability of… Libya and its neighbours. We will need the same measures happening in Iraq and Syria to be taken in Libya,” Sisi said in an interview with France 24.
