Tuesday, February 2, 2016

IS Pushed Back in Iraq, Syria, But a Threat in Libya – Kerry

 
Reuters, 02/02 12:06 CET

By Arshad Mohammed

ROME (Reuters) – An international coalition is pushing back Islamic State militants in their Syrian and Iraqi strongholds but the group is threatening Libya and could seize the nation’s oil wealth, U.S Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday.

Officials from 23 countries are in Rome to review the fight against Islamic State militants, who have created a self-proclaimed Caliphate across swathes of Syria and Iraq, and are spreading into other countries, notably Libya.

Islamic State forces have attacked Libya’s oil infrastructure and established a foothold in the city of Sirte, exploiting a power vacuum in the North African country where two rival governments have been battling for supremacy.

“In Libya, we are on the brink of getting a government of national unity,” Kerry told the Rome conference. 

“That country has resources. The last thing in the world you want is a false caliphate with access to billions of dollars of oil revenue.”

Under a U.N.-backed plan for a political transition, Libya’s two warring administrations are expected to form a unity government, but a month after the deal was agreed in Morocco, its implementation has been dogged by in-fighting. 

Click here for the full article.

Source: Euronews

No comments: