Libyan army accuses Qatar, Sudan, Turkey of supporting terrorism in Libya

Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-05 03:14:33|Editor: Song Lifang
EGYPT-CAIRO-LIBYA-TERRORISM-PRESS CONFERENCE 

Libyan military spokesman Ahmed al-Mesmary speaks at a press conference in Cairo, Egypt, on July 4, 2017. Libyan military spokesman Ahmed al-Mesmary Ahmed al-Mesmary on Tuesday accused Qatar, Sudan and Turkey of supporting terrorism in the conflict-torn Arab country. (Xinhua/Zhao Dingzhe)

CAIRO, July 4 (Xinhua) -- Libyan military spokesman Ahmed al-Mesmary on Tuesday accused Qatar, Sudan and Turkey of supporting terrorism in the conflict-torn Arab country.

"By supporting terrorists, Qatar committed crimes against humanity in Libya," Mesmary told reporters at a press conference in the Egyptian capital Cairo.

The Libyan spokesman said that he has documents proving involvement of the three countries of providing Libyan terror militias with logistic provisions, saying he will present the documents to the international community.

"All we need from the international community is to lift the arms embargo imposed on the Libyan army to fight terrorism," said the Libyan military spokesman.

He also said that his army achieved progress and controlled vast areas in Libya despite fighting four major categories: the Islamic State (IS), al-Qaida, the Muslim Brotherhood group and criminal gangs which possess weapons and ammunition.

"In one week, we controlled three large air bases in central Libya," Mesmary said, adding that his army managed to completely destroy the IS in Benghazi.

He clarified that the IS presence in Libya is declining while the criminal gangs control large parts in Tripoli.

Mesmary said that those areas still outside the Libyan national army's control include the city of Sirte and the area between the cities of Misrata and Tripoli.

Six years after the 2011 uprising that ended the 42-year rule of Muammar Gaddafi as well as his life, Libya is currently engaged in a civil war and run by two rival administrations, one in the capital Tripoli and the other in Tobruk city in the east.

Tobruk's administration was internationally recognized, before the Libyan Presidential Council was established in 2015 to run a unity government in Tripoli based on a UN-brokered peace deal between Libyan factions reached in Skhirat, Morocco.

Supported by the self-proclaimed Libyan national army led by strongman Marshall Khalifa Haftar, the parliament-backed government in Tobruk refuses to recognize the Tripoli-based unity government.

The United Nations says that the Libya's army needs to unify first in order for the UN Security Council to lift the arms embargo imposed since 2011.

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KEY WORDS: Libya
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