Decisive military action is needed to halt the spread of Daesh in Libya, the top US military officer said on Friday, saying the group wanted to use the north African nation as a platform to coordinate activity across the continent.
“Unchecked, I am concerned about the spread of Daesh in Libya ... So I believe that military leaders owe the secretary of defense and the president a way ahead for dealing with the expansion of Daesh in Libya,” said chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford.
Speaking to a small group of reporters during a trip to Paris, he added: “You want to take decisive military action to check Daesh’s expansion and at the same time you want to do it such a way that’s supportive of a long-term political process.”
Meanwhile, firefighters on Friday battled a blaze at an oil facility in northern Libya for a second day, an official said, after an assault by militants aiming to seize export terminals.
Libya’s internationally recognized government, meanwhile, called for Western air strikes to repel the militants. “Four storage tanks together containing around two million barrels of crude oil are on fire,” said a security official in the Ras Lanouf region along Libya’s northern coast.
Source :Arab News