Libya’s UN-backed government on Wednesday criticized the presence of French troops in the chaos-wracked country, as French President Francois Hollande confirmed France has soldiers there after three died.
The presence of the troops in Libya was a “violation” of the nation’s sovereignty, the government of national accord said on Facebook following Hollande’s announcement that its soldiers had been in the country.
The government said it would welcome “any help given to us by friendly nations in the fight against DAESH,” using another name for the Islamic State (IS) group, which controls the key Libyan city of Sirte.
However, any assistance given “should be based on a request [by the Libyan unity government] or in coordination” with it, the statement added.
Hundreds of people took to the streets of several Libyan cities to protest against the French military presence, mainly in Tripoli and Misrata, about 200km east of the capital, according to an Agence France-Presse photographer and Libyan television.
“Get your hands off Libya,” one placard held by a child attending the protest in the capital read.
“No French intervention,” read another, written in English.
Protesters waved the Libyan flag as one woman burned a French flag.
Hollande on Wednesday said three French soldiers were killed during a mission to gather intelligence in Libya.
Without revealing when the incident took place, Hollande said the troops died in a helicopter accident while taking part in “dangerous intelligence operations.”
Libyan sources gave a different account of events, saying that the M17 helicopter was shot down by surface-to-air missiles.
They were “probably targeted by Islamist groups in the Magroun area, about 65km west of Benghazi” on Sunday, a commander of forces loyal to controversial General Khalifa Haftar said.
Another source close to Haftar — who opposes the internationally backed unity government in Tripoli, as well as the Islamist factions that have overrun large parts of the country — said the dead soldiers were military advisers.
Announcing their deaths earlier, French Minister of Defense Jean-Yves Le Drian praised the officers’ “courage of devotion,” but gave no details of how they were killed.
Rival militias in Libya have been vying for power since the overthrow of Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi in 2011.
Several Islamist groups, including the Islamic State, have a presence around Benghazi, which is situated in the east, analysts said.
The IS’ main stronghold is the central coastal city of Sirte.
Forces loyal to the unity government have been embroiled in a two-month battle to try to retake the city from the militants.
Western powers have been nervously watching the group’s advance on Europe’s doorstep.
Hollande said Libya was experiencing “dangerous instability.”
“It’s only a few hundred kilometers from Europe’s shores,” he said.
France had previously revealed its warplanes were carrying out reconnaissance flights over the country from the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier.
However, Paris has never confirmed reports that it has intelligence agents or special forces on the ground.
‘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
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
RIVER TRAGEDY: Local fishers and residents helped rescue people after the vessel capsized, while motorbike taxis evacuated some of the injured At least 58 people going to a funeral died after their overloaded river boat capsized in the Central African Republic’s (CAR) capital, Bangui, the head of civil protection said on Saturday. “We were able to extract 58 lifeless bodies,” Thomas Djimasse told Radio Guira. “We don’t know the total number of people who are underwater. According to witnesses and videos on social media, the wooden boat was carrying more than 300 people — some standing and others perched on wooden structures — when it sank on the Mpoko River on Friday. The vessel was heading to the funeral of a village chief in