CAIRO (AA) – Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi on Tuesday called for lifting the seven-year-long UN arms embargo on the Libyan army.
Al-Sisi issued his appeal at a gathering of foreign media figures held on the sidelines of the World Youth Forum now underway in the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh, according to Egypt’s official MENA news agency.
“We demand that the [UN] embargo on arming the Libyan army be lifted, even partially, to allow it to strengthen its capabilities, ” al-Sisi said.
He went on to assert that non-state “armed militias ” should play no role in ensuring the region’s security.
“We support the Libyan army as the national army authorized to maintain order and security, ” he said.
“The continuation of Libya’s current situation will only attract terrorist elements, which will ultimately serve to threaten Libya's neighbors, ” he added.
In March of 2011, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1970 imposing an arms embargo on Libya by all UN member states.
Libya has remained dogged by turmoil since 2011, when a bloody NATO-backed uprising led to the ouster and death of long-serving President Muammar Gaddafi after more than four decades in power.
Since then, Libya’s stark political divisions have yielded two rival seats of power — one in Tobruk and another in Tripoli — and a host of heavily armed militia groups of divergent loyalties.
