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Roundup: Int'l community ready to answer Libya's requests for support in fighting IS

Xinhua, May 17, 2016 Adjust font size:

The international community is ready to answer Libya's requests for supporting its military forces in the fight against the Islamic State (IS), top diplomats said Monday after an international meeting on Libya in Vienna.

Leading foreign ministers from more than 20 countries met in the Austrian capital on Monday under the joint chairmanship of the United States and Italy to discuss how to bolster the support for Libya's unity government in the face of deepening splits in the country over political legitimacy and growing threats by the IS.

Speaking at a press conference after the meeting, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said it was imperative that the international community should support Libya's s unity government.

Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni, who also attended the press conference, told reporters that the international community was ready to answer the Libyan government's requests for training and assisting the Libyan military forces to combat networks, including the IS.

Speaking of the request submitted by Libya for lifting arms embargo, Kerry said the international community was ready to "measure whatever their requests are", adding that efforts are supported with the aim of providing the Libyan government with necessary tools to counter-attack the IS.

Since March, a national unity government has been gradually exerting its influence in Libya following years of unrest in the country. However, the unity government led by Fayez Sarraj faces political opposition from within Libya and the threat of the IS establishing a bigger foothold.

A senior U.S. administration official told media earlier that Libya's international partners were willing to help, if the Libyan side draws up a "detailed and coherent list" of what it needs to fight the IS.

"We ready to respond to the Libyan government's requests for training and equipping the Presidential Guard and vetted forces from throughout Libya," said a draft joint communique on Libya by UN Security Council members and other nations.

"We fully support these efforts while continuing to reinforce the UN arms embargo," the draft communique added. Endit