Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi yesterday urged the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution allowing for an international military intervention in troubled Libya.
“There is no other choice. Taking into account that the Libyan people must agree that we act to restore security and stability,” al-Sisi said in an interview with French radio Europe 1.
He said that Egyptian airstrikes against Islamic State group positions in Libya on Monday were in self-defense.
Photo: Reuters
“We will not allow them to cut off the heads of our children,” al-Sisi said. “We need to do it, but together to stop the threat in Libya.”
Al-Sisi has repeatedly called for some kind of global intervention in Libya, which has been wracked by conflict since the overthrow of then-Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi in a 2011 NATO-backed uprising.
Chaos in Libya has seen rival governments and powerful militias battling for control of key cities and the country’s vast oil riches, and has provided fertile ground for the Islamic State group, formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
The Egyptian air strikes against Islamic State camps and weapons stores in Derna, Libya, came just hours after the militants released a gruesome video showing masked militants beheading 21 Egyptian Christians on a Libyan beach.
Egypt said a “tough intervention” was needed, and with its air strikes, Cairo opened a new front against the militants.
Cairo is already battling militants in the Sinai Peninsula, where scores of troops have been killed since the army toppled former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.
Witnesses said there were at least seven strikes in Derna.
Libyan air force head Saqr al-Jaroushi told an Egyptian broadcaster at least 50 people were killed, a toll which could not be confirmed, and that Libyan warplanes also targeted the militants.
It was the first time Egypt announced military action against Islamist targets in Libya.
Experts say that by targeting Islamic State with air strikes in Libya, al-Sisi has become a key ally of the West against group, despite international condemnation of his crackdown against the Muslim Brotherhood.
The militants have been hammered by US-led air strikes in Iraq and Syria after taking over swathes of the two countries, and the group has active affiliates in Egypt and Libya.
Bombing Islamic State targets in Libya will now show al-Sisi’s resolve to counter a wider Islamist threat in the region, said H.A. Hellyer, Arab affairs expert at Washington-based Brookings Institute.
The killing of the Christians, who like thousands of Egyptians had travelled abroad to seek work, shocked their compatriots.
“Revenge is on the way,” read the front-page banner of the official al-Akhbar newspaper.
Both the Coptic Church and the prestigious Islamic al-Azhar institution condemned the attack.
In the village of al-Our in Upper Egypt, where 14 of the victims were from, devastated family members gathered in church.
“My son travelled to Libya 40 days ago, he wanted to make money for his marriage,” Boshra said of his 22-year-old son, Kirollos.
Egyptian television repeatedly played the video without the beheadings, showing black-clad militants leading their captives in orange jumpsuits along a beach before forcing them to kneel.
Additional reporting by AP
EUROPEAN FUTURE? Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama says only he could secure EU membership, but challenges remain in dealing with corruption and a brain drain Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama seeks to win an unprecedented fourth term, pledging to finally take the country into the EU and turn it into a hot tourist destination with some help from the Trump family. The artist-turned-politician has been pitching Albania as a trendy coastal destination, which has helped to drive up tourism arrivals to a record 11 million last year. US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also joined in the rush, pledging to invest US$1.4 billion to turn a largely deserted island into a luxurious getaway. Rama is expected to win another term after yesterday’s vote. The vote would
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
CANCER: Jose Mujica earned the moniker ‘world’s poorest president’ for giving away much of his salary and living a simple life on his farm, with his wife and dog Tributes poured in on Tuesday from across Latin America following the death of former Uruguayan president Jose “Pepe” Mujica, an ex-guerrilla fighter revered by the left for his humility and progressive politics. He was 89. Mujica, who spent a dozen years behind bars for revolutionary activity, lost his battle against cancer after announcing in January that the disease had spread and he would stop treatment. “With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica. President, activist, guide and leader. We will miss you greatly, old friend,” Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi wrote on X. “Pepe, eternal,” a cyclist shouted out minutes later,
Myanmar’s junta chief met Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) for the first time since seizing power, state media reported yesterday, the highest-level meeting with a key ally for the internationally sanctioned military leader. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing led a military coup in 2021, overthrowing Myanmar’s brief experiment with democracy and plunging the nation into civil war. In the four years since, his armed forces have battled dozens of ethnic armed groups and rebel militias — some with close links to China — opposed to its rule. The conflict has seen Min Aung Hlaing draw condemnation from rights groups and pursued by the
RSS