CAIRO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th July, 2020) Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on Wednesday announced the return of the Islamic State terrorist group (IS, banned in Russia) to Libya during his address to the UN Security Council.
"I am very concerned that IS militants have shown up again in some cities of western Libya, especially in Sabratha. Therefore, I take this opportunity to confirm that member states are required to combat terrorism in Libya," Shoukry said, as quoted by the Foreign Ministry's press service.
The minister said that all UN member stated should condemn any form of support provided to extremists by any regional country, adding that the challenges, which Libya is subject to, pose a threat to the western borders of Egypt.
"We will not tolerate such threats at our borders that are carried out with the support of foreign intervention," Shoukry said.
Libya has been split between two rival administrations, the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA), backed by Turkey, in the west, and the Tobruk-based parliament, supported by Egypt and working in cooperation with Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA) in the east, for almost a decade.
Over the past month, troops affiliated with the GNA have made major military gains against Haftar's army. The western-based government has stated that it wants to seize the strategic city of Sirte, currently under the control of Haftar's forces.
On June 6, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi had a meeting with Haftar and the eastern parliament's speaker, Aguila Saleh. After the meeting, the leader of Egypt announced the so-called Cairo initiative, which includes a ceasefire throughout Libya and the terms of a political settlement. The initiative was backed by Russia, the United States, and several Arab states. Meanwhile, Turkey and its allied GNA rejected it.
