Two of the most powerful members of the UN Security Council are rejecting Libya’s call to lift a UN arms embargo so it can defend itself against the Islamic State group, on Thursday saying that the chaotic country needs a national unity government first.
Libyan Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed al-Dairi told an emergency council meeting on Wednesday that lifting the embargo is necessary as the militant group formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant establishes a presence in northern Africa and moves closer to Europe.
Alarm soared after a video released over the weekend showed the beheading of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians on a Libyan beach.
Photo: AFP
“If we fail to have arms provided to us, this can only play into the hands of extremists,” al-Dairi said.
However, the US and Britain are openly worried about allowing more weapons into a country that has two separate governments, multiple militant groups and a high risk of weapons falling into unwanted hands.
Both countries can use their vetos as permanent members of the 15-seat council to block any proposed action.
“The problem is that there isn’t a government in Libya that is effective and in control of its territory,” British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said during a visit to Spain. “There isn’t a Libyan military which the international community can effectively support.”
Libya first needs a government of national unity in place, along with a UN presence in the country, he said.
“But simply pouring weapons into one faction or the other, which is essentially what has been proposed, is not to bring us to a resolution to the crisis in Libya, and is not going to make Europe safer, is going to make it more at risk,” Hammond said.
Libya is split between the internationally recognized government based in Tobruk in the east and another government in Tripoli, backed by Muslim militias. The UN embargo has been in place since 2011.
In Washington, US Department of State spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the US position on keeping the arms embargo has not changed.
“It permits transfers necessary to support the Libyan government while allowing the Security Council to seek guard against the high risk that weapons may be diverted to non- state actors,” she said.
A spokesman for Libya’s mission to the UN said he could not comment on Thursday night.
Libya can apply for weapons under an exemption in the arms embargo for the Libyan government, but the Security Council committee that considers such requests has been cautious about giving approval amid concern that weapons might be leaked to armed groups.
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