The death of two Italian hostages in Libya this week has added urgency to calls for Italy to intervene militarily in its former colony, with names being floated of an Italian to head an international coalition to fight the Islamic State group and plans for about 5,000 Italian troops to be deployed.
However, criticism of any military intervention is also growing, with opposition calls for the government of Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi to resist pressure from US and European allies and at the very least to brief the Italian parliament about its plans.
US Ambassador to Italy John Phillips said in an interview published on Friday that Italy had committed to providing upward of 5,000 troops for an international force to help stabilize Libya and prevent the Islamic State from posing a greater threat.
A US embassy spokesman said that Phillips was merely repeating what Italian defense and foreign ministers had said previously.
However, coupled with a steady stream of alarmist headlines in Italy about imminent military action in Libya, the interview seemed to point to plans that are increasingly taking shape.
Italy, which is just a few hundred kilometers from the Libyan coast, has long said it would be on the front line of any international force to stabilize the country and help stem the waves of migrants who have used Libya as a jumping-off point to reach Europe.
However, Italy has insisted it would only do so if formally requested by a Libyan national unity government. That government is still awaiting endorsement from Libya’s fractured factions, delaying any firm decisions on a possible request to the UN for international intervention.
In recent days, Italian newspapers have been rife with reports that plans were ramping up following a decree signed by Renzi on Feb. 10, designating the Italian overseas secret service agency, AISE, as the lead special forces on the ground.
Corriere della Sera this week tipped General Paolo Serra, security adviser to UN Libya envoy Martin Kobler, as the lead candidate to head any international coalition.
“Italy has made a commitment to provide in the range of 5,000 troops,” Phillips told the newspaper.
He said the aim was to make Libya secure so the Islamic State group cannot strike.
However, at the same time, enormous questions remain about the overall objective of any foreign intervention and what its rules of engagement would be.
Internal opposition has been growing in recent days in Italy, even after confirmation that two Italian construction workers taken hostage last year were killed in a clash between Islamic State fighters and local militias fighting them.
Two other Italian hostages were freed on Friday.
The Five Star Movement political party has demanded Renzi’s government refer to parliament about its plans.
“The death of the Italian hostages in Libya was the fruit of the chaos generated by bombs,” said Five Star’s Luigi Di Maio, vice president of the Italian lower chamber of deputies. “And our response will be more bombs for more chaos?”
Libya fell into chaos following the 2011 toppling and killing of Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi and since 2014 its divisions have only increased.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese