Emmanuel Macron Says France’s Participation in 2011 Libyan Civil War Mistake

French President Emmanuel Macron admitted that democracy cannot be brought to the country from the outside without involving the people living in it, saying that France made a mistake in joining the Libyan war.

ROME (Sputnik) — French President Emmanuel Macron said that France’s participation in Libyan civil war in 2011 was a mistake.

"[France] was wrong to join the war in Libya. What were the outcomes of these invasions? Destroyed countries in which terrorist groups thrive. I do not want that to happen in Syria," Macron said in an interview for European media, a part of which was published by Il Corriere della Sera newspaper.

Libya has been suffering from a civil war since 2011 when long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown. The country’s eastern regions are governed by the elected parliament headquartered in the city of Tobruk. Besides, the Government of National Accord, formed with the support from the United Nations and Europe and headed by Fayez Sarraj, operates in the country’s west, including the Libyan capital of Tripoli. The eastern authorities act independently from the west, cooperating with the National Army led by Commander Khalifa Belqasim Haftar, which fights against Islamic terrorists.