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Roundup: Italy committed to strong diplomatic action on Libya: Renzi

Xinhua, February 18, 2015 Adjust font size:

Concern is growing in Italy over the worsening of security situation in Libya, where Islamic State (IS) militants appear to be making headway.

During a meeting held with government ministers on Tuesday, Italian Prime Minister Matto Renzi ruled out for the time being the prospect of Italy carrying out a military intervention on the other side of the Mediterranean.

Renzi said Italy was committed to strong diplomatic action at the United Nations level, adding the international community had the means for a possible intervention.

Local experts, meanwhile, said the Libya crisis may escalate if left to deteriorate.

Italy recently closed its embassy in Tripoli and brought back dozens of citizens. Being 350 km away from Libya, Italy is rightly worried about security in the region, Vittorio Emanuele Parsi, director of the Postgraduate School of Economics and International Relations at the Catholic University of Milan, said.

A concrete risk, he said, lies in human trafficking, an illegal activity that is bringing thousands of African and Middle Eastern sea migrants to Italy.

"Should IS militants take full possession of Libya, they could hold the monopoly in human trafficking, which would not only mean much more economic advantage for IS, but also possible terrorist infiltration," Parsi explained to Xinhua.

Parsi said a military coalition composed of Western and Arab countries "with very clear objectives and adequate instruments" may be a possibility to "hit IS militants in a drastic way."

Nunziante Mastrolia, senior analyst at Rome-based Military Center for Strategic Studies of the Italian Defense Ministry, said the threat is serious but can still be solved relatively easily if tackled in a rapid and efficient way. "After all, IS militants are not a regular army," he noted. Endit