MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Earlier this month, US Africa Command (AFRICOM) head General David Rodriguez said that the United States would possibly conduct airstrikes against Daesh in Libya if invited by the Libyan Government of National Accord.
"There have been reports in the media that Americans had conducted airstrikes against IS members in Libya, newspapers write that there are British special forces on the country’s territory. We are warning our Western colleagues (there was once again a conversation on this subject at the UN Security Council a few days ago) that one-sided endeavors will not lead to anything good," Churkin told the Russian Izvestia newspaper.
According to Rodrigues, there are an estimated 4,000-6,000 Daesh fighters in Libya, and their number has doubled in the last 12 to 18 months.
In February, US jets struck an Daesh training camp in Libya near the Tunisian border. The airstrike was carried out against militants involved in the deadly terrorist attacks in Tunisia last year.
Libya has been in a state of turmoil since the 2011 Arab Spring movement, which later led to a civil war and the overthrow of the country’s leader Muammar Gaddafi by Western-supported Islamic extremists.
The instability also led to the rise of numerous Islamic militant and terrorist groups, particularly Daesh, which has been carrying out attacks on Libya’s oil infrastructure.
