Libya asks Egypt to continue airstrikes, Security Council hears

The UN Security Council convened in New York on Wednesday to discuss the latest developments in Libya after the apparent mass beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians at the hands of Islamic State.

The meeting was requested by Egypt and Libya after IS released a video appearing to show the killing of a group of Egyptian Coptic Christians who had been working in neighbouring Libya.

In the wake of the killing, Egypt launched airstrikes on the eastern town of Derna, a militant stronghold some 320 kilometres west of the border with Egypt – Sky News Arabia also reported that Egyptian special forces had staged a ground incursion, although this has not been verified.

The foreign minister of one of Libya’s rival governments, Mohammed al-Dairi, told the meeting that Libya had asked Egypt to continue its airstrikes.

Dairi’s Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shokri said that Egypt had “responded to the Libyan government’s request to strike IS” on Monday.

Dairi’s government, the House of Representatives, was elected in June 2014 – but low turnout marred the vote and the previous government, the General National Congress, questioned the new body’s legitimacy and refused to cede power.

The HoR, which is engaged in a military anti-militia campaign, is widely accepted to be Libya's internationally-recognised government, although the UN has been more hesitant in recent months, attempting to get both sides to the negotiating table. 

Ahead of the meeting, Egypt had been requesting an international military intervention in Libya, but it backtracked in the face of uncertainty among many council members.

However, a bill backed by Arab member states for the lifting of an arms embargo on Libya was still pushed, despite what Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shokri described as “reservations” among some members of the council.

Speaking during Wednesday’s Security Council, Shokri urged members to “take responsibility” and do more to solve the crisis in Libya, which he said “threatens the safety and peace of the entire world”.

“The restrictions on the government and the army in Libya must be lifted,” he told the Security Council.

A UN embargo has been in place in Libya since August 2014 and requires any weapons shipments to be approved in advance by the organisation’s Sanctions Committee.

Libya’s representative threw his weight behind the request, calling for the embargo to be lifted “so that Libya can confront terrorism”.

The UN’s envoy to Libya, Bernadino Leon, emphasised the importance of finding a diplomatic resolution to the crisis, saying that “most parties in Libya have indicated their intention to reach a peaceful solution”.

“We have achieved progress in the dialogue between the parties in the Libyan crisis, and we must end the state of political polarisation there”.

Shokri replied that “there is no connection between a political solution and confronting terrorism in Libya," pressing council members to take an "effective stance" to confront IS.

Italy's representative later said that they are prepared to support and train the army allied to the HoR, but are keen to see a peaceful solution to the crisis.