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By Ajnadin Mustafa.
Tripoli, 25 April 2016:
The president of the State Council, Abdulrahman Sewehli, has called on the Presidency Council to send . . .[restrict]troops to liberate Sirte and other nearby places currently controlled by the so-called Islamic State (IS). It also wants the Presidency to ask the UN Security Council to lift the weapons ban so that Libya can import arms to fight the extremists.
Rapid action was needed, a State Council statement today read, because IS was trying to expand its area of control as well as attacking oilfields in the Sirte basin.
It said that in line with clause 5 of Article 24 of the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA), it was advising the Presidency to recruit a force led by professional military commanders from all over the country to capture Sirte.
The clause states that the State Council can propose policies and recommendations on combatting terrorism, extremism, violence and exclusion.
The State Council statement also said that once Sirte and other places were freed, the Presidency should look at formally appointing the heads of military and security services in line with Article 8 of the of the LPA’s additional provisions.
Under the article, the Presidency Council was supposed to appoint or reappoint heads of major military, security and civilian posts within 20 days of the LPA being signed. The article is highly controversial and is bitterly opposed by supporters of Khalifa Hafter. Even the hundred members of the House of Representatives who last week announced their support for the Government of National Accord want it deleted.
Yesterday, the Presidency Council itself said that it had been warned by the National Oil Corporation of further terrorist attacks on oil facilities. It had also been told that Qaddafi loyalists were collaborating with foreign militias such as the rebel Sudanese Justice and Equality Movement to similarly disrupt the oil industry. It called on neighbouring and European states to help stop such attacks and also help prevent the flow of illegal migrants through Libya.
The State Council’s call follows the arrival in Tobruk on a Saudi vessel of a major consignment of military equipment for the Libyan National Army. Including some 100 vehicles, it is said to have been supplied by the UAE for the LNA’s proposed push against Sirte.
A successful LNA offensive against Sirte could seriously complicate the political process in Libya, undermining the LPA. This is thought to be a prime reason for Sewehli’s call for immediate military action by the Presidency Council.
Meanwhile, there are unconfirmed reports of remaining Sirte residents fleeing the town in recent days, fearing an attack.
