The US on Sunday condemned what it called the “brutal mass murder” of 30 Ethiopian Christians in Libya following a video released by Islamic State militants purportedly showing the executions.
The 29-minute video appears to show militants holding two groups of captives described in text captions as “followers of the cross from the enemy Ethiopian Church.”
US National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan decried the killings and called for stability in Libya, which has been mired in political chaos and unrest since the 2011 uprising that ousted Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi.
“The United States condemns in the strongest terms the brutal mass murder purportedly of Ethiopian Christians by ISIL-affiliated terrorists in Libya,” she said, using another name for the group formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
“This atrocity once again underscores the urgent need for a political resolution to the conflict in Libya to empower a unified Libyan rejection of terrorist groups,” she added.
Ethiopia said its embassy in Egypt was trying to verify the video to ascertain whether those slain were indeed its nationals.
“We strongly condemn such atrocities, whether they are Ethiopians or not,” Ethiopian Government Communication Office head Redwan Hussein told reporters.
The video shows a masked and armed fighter threatening Christians if they do not convert to Islam.
The video then switches between footage of one group of about 12 men apparently being beheaded by masked militants on a beach, and another group of at least 16 seeming to be shot in the head in a desert area.
It was not immediately clear who the captives were or how many were killed.
Before the purported killings, the video shows purported footage of Christians in Syria, saying they had been given the choice of converting to Islam or paying a special tax, and had decided to pay.
The video bore the logo of the Islamic State’s media arm and was similar to past footage released by the group.
Several Libyan militant groups have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State.
Addis Ababa says the group, which has seized chunks of Syria and Iraq and won the support of extremist groups across the region, has also gained a foothold in Ethiopia.
“There are elements of [Islamic State] around Ethiopia who are already carrying out operations, even though under a different name,” Redwan said, referring to al-Shabaab. “We will keep on fighting them.”
Since the 2011 revolt, Libya has been awash with weapons, has rival governments and parliaments, and is on the edge of all-out civil war.
Officials have repeatedly said that Libya could become an extremist haven on Europe’s doorstep unless the violence stops and a national unity government is formed. Waves of would-be immigrants, including Ethiopians, have been using Libya as a stepping stone to embark on perilous sea crossings to Europe. More than 700 people are feared drowned in the latest disaster.
On Sunday, UN Special Representative to Libya Bernardino Leon said after weeks of brokering talks among rival Libyan factions that they had reached a draft accord which is “very close to a final agreement.”
Speaking to reporters in Morocco, Leon also said preparations were under way for armed groups to hold direct talks to end the conflict.
Referring to the video and fighting in Libya, Leon said: “We know that the enemies of peace, the enemies of the agreement, will be active and be even more active in the coming days and weeks.”
The execution of Copts in February prompted retaliatory air strikes from Egypt, with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi pushing for the creation of a joint Arab military force to battle extremists.
Arab military leaders are to meet tomorrow in Cairo to discuss how the force is to be created, its role and financing, an Arab League official said.
A US-led coalition of Western and Arab nations is already waging an air war against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.
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