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UN official warns of growing ISIL threat in Libya

23 May 2015 18:20 (UTC +04:00)

The terrorist group “can become a very serious threat for the Libyans and for us” if the warring factions in the North African country fail to clinch an agreement on the establishment of a national unity government “in a few months,” said UN Special Envoy to Libya Bernardino Leon on Saturday.

Leon made the remarks in an address to a regional conference of the World Economic Forum in the Jordanian city of Southern Shuneh.

He added that ISIL has managed to recruit hundreds of militants in Libya over the past months, with the number of Takfiri terrorists exceeding 2,000 in the conflict-stricken state.

Earlier in the day, a senior Libyan lawmaker lashed out at the international community, saying it is “indirectly or unintentionally” contributing to SIL’s rise to power in the country.

The wrong policies of the international community with regard to the conflict in Libya has put the country’s government “in a very deteriorating position… as compared to Daesh (ISIL)”, said Mahmoud Jibril, the head of Libya’s largest party, the National Forces Alliance, on the sidelines of the forum in Jordan.

“By not arming the Libyan army to fight terrorism, by not releasing the funds which were frozen since the fall of [Muammar] Gaddafi (Libya’s ousted dictator),” the international community only paves the way for the terrorists’ advances in the restive country, he went on to say.

He said the Libyan government “is not able to pay the salaries of its public service employees” due to the financial restrictions imposed by the intentional community, while ISIL lures the Libyan youth into joining its ranks by paying “hefty salaries.”

Libya plunged into chaos following the 2011 uprising against the dictatorship of Gaddafi. His ouster gave rise to a patchwork of heavily-armed militias and deep political divisions.

The country has been witnessing numerous clashes between government forces and rival militia groups that refuse to lay down arms.