Libyan government calls for Arab intervention to face Daesh

Libya’s internationally recognised government on Saturday called on the Arab League to support it during its fight against Daesh.

Al-Arabiya reported the government calling on Arab countries to intervene immediately and carry out airstrikes against Daesh strongholds in Libya, especially in the city of Sirte.

In a statement the government said that, due to the arms embargo imposed on the country in 2011, it has been unable to counter Daesh.

The government demanded Arab countries “intervene quickly to save the country from terrorism which threatens regional neighbours and the Arab world, especially because Arab League resolutions and the joint Arab defence conventions provide for a swift intervention to save civilians.”

The government said it was ready to coordinate with Arab countries to direct strikes against Daesh, describing the international community’s stance on the situation in the country as “suspicious and passive towards the growing threat of Daesh”.

It also called on Arab countries to exert more pressure on the UN Security Council to lift the arms embargo imposed on the Libyan army to support it in its war on terrorism.

The statement came after a Daesh affiliated group seized control of a new neighbourhood in Sirte, killing a senior cleric and hanging the bodies of prisoners they killed over bridges.