Shoukry, Al-Dairi to further discuss Libya situation

Daily News Egypt
2 Min Read
Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry held talks on Libya in separate meetings held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with Libyan foreign minister Mohamed Al-Dairi. (Photo Ministry of Foreign Affairs Handout)

 

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry is scheduled to meet Libyan Foreign Minister Mohamed Al-Dairi on Wednesday afternoon.

The meeting comes a day following the Arab League’s emergency meeting at the level of permanent delegates. The meeting tackled the deteriorating situation in Libya, caused by “Islamic State” (IS) affiliates on Libyan territories.

The Arab League meeting concluded Tuesday with the agreement by Arab nations to develop a regional strategy ensuring military aid to Libya to face IS expansion on its territories.

The meeting also included calling for the international community to support the internationally recognised Libyan government.

An Islamist government, with its military wing known as Libya Dawn (Fajr Libya), took over the capital Tripoli last August, ousting the internationally recognised government.

Earlier this week, the city of Sirte witnessed an escalation, with massacres undertaken by the Islamists, occurring in the city, and reportedly killing between 150 and 200 people.

Libya’s interim government, led by Prime Minister Abdullah Al-Thinni, called for neighbouring Arab countries to launch airstrikes targeting IS affiliates’ hideouts in Sirte. It further called for its allies to push for the arms embargo at the UN Security Council to be lifted.

The arms embargo has been in place since 2011. Following the decapitation of 20 Coptic Egyptians last February in the coastal city of Sirte, Egypt has been calling for lifting the arms embargo to allow the Libyan army to defend the country.

Libya is among the Arab nations witnessing a deteriorating situation since the wave of Arab uprisings four years ago and the toppling of former president Muammar Gaddafi.

 

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