A minister in Libya’s Tripoli-based Islamist government called on the UN Security Council to hold an emergency meeting to put an end to the Egyptian army’s “criminal operations” in Libya stressing that his government condemns terrorism and stands against it.
During a press conference in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, Foreign Minister Mohammad Al-Ghariani called on the international community, the UN Security Council, the African Union and the Arab League to shoulder their responsibilities and prevent the recurrence of such operations and to form a fact-finding committee to investigate the accuracy of the video which revealed members of the Islamic State in Libya slaughtering 21 Egyptian Copts.
Al-Ghariani offered his condolences to the families of the Egyptian victims, and the Egyptian people as well as to the families of Libyan victims who were killed during the Egyptian bombing in the city of Darnah.
Al-Ghariani condemned the Egyptian bombing in Libya describing it as “brutal aggression and a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of Libya and a crime against humanity and a violation of international law.”
He said the Egyptian army’s operations in Libya are “a desperate attempt by the Egyptian regime to escape from its internal political, economic and social failure.”
Egyptian fighter jets carried out air strikes on Monday morning against what they claimed were Islamic State (ISIS) strongholds in Libya in response to the killing of 21 Egyptian Copts.