Participants of Rome Conference Say Ready to Work With Libya to Fight Daesh

Participants of the international conference on Libya crisis settlement held in Rome expressed readiness to cooperate with the newly created Libyan national unity government to fight Daesh (ISIL/the Islamic State) jihadist militant group in a communique released Sunday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Earlier in December, the UN Security Council expressed grave concern over the expansion of Daesh, an organization outlawed in many countries including Russia, in Libya.

"We express our determination, working together with the Government of National Accord, to defeat ISIL [IS] affiliates in Libya and eliminate the threat they pose to Libyan and international security," the communique said.

Foreign ministers from 17 countries and four international organizations attended the conference on Sunday co-chaired by Italy and the United States.

Libya has been in turmoil since early 2011, when Arab Spring protests led to a civil war and the overthrow of long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi. A UN-brokered dialogue on national reconciliation in Libya has been going on for a year.

Earlier on Sunday, Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said that the participants of the conference supported a UN-backed Libyan national unity government deal aiming to bring an end to the ongoing crisis.

Daesh is a Sunni radical group in control of vast territories in Iraq and Syria. A number of Daesh cells, with local insurgent groups pledging allegiance, are known to operate in Libya, Yemen and other territories across the Middle East and North Africa.