Italian Defence Minister Roberta Pinotti on Thursday ruled out the possibility of a military intervention to occupy Libya. "Libya can only be stabilized through the intervention of local forces," Pinotti told Mediaset television. "A military operation occupying the country would be unthinkable". Libya has been in turmoil since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 and it now has two rival militia-backed parliaments, one based in the capital Tripoli and another, recognised by the international community, in Tobruk.
The chaos has allowed extremist Islamist group ISIS to gain ground in Libya.
Furthermore, given the difficulty the various militias are having in moving to form a United Nations-brokered government of national unity, there has been speculation the West could intervene directly to counteract the threat posed by ISIS.
The issue is particularly important for Italy, with Libya so near to its southern tip and the turbulence being exploited by human traffickers, making it a big factor in the asylum-seeker crisis. But Rome has taken a prudent line so far, aware that a lack of long-term planning before a NATO intervention helped topple Gaddafi contributed to the current situation.
For example, Premier Matteo Renzi's government said this week that it would allow armed American drones to take off from a NATO-Italian air base at Sigonella in Sicily for operations against ISIS in Libya.
But the executive has stressed that authorizations will be given on a case-by-case basis and only for defensive operations.
Pinotti said Thursday that the first objective to achieve in Libya is stabilization, "which is hard to imagine without speaking to the Libyans themselves. "The failure of the vote for a national unity government is a negative sign and we are concerned about the constant postponements," she added, referring by a delay in a vote in Tobruk on the national unity government. "When the Libyan government takes office it will be necessary to give a helping hand for security with trainers and protection forces, and 19 countries are working on this under Italy's coordination.
"Over the past few months, ISIS's presence has advanced, but this issue also is difficult to confront without Libya's cooperation".
The minister tried not to be drawn into commenting on press reports that French special forces are in action in Libya.
"I don't comment issues that concern another country, but in the past unilateral expeditions have not helped Libya," she said. "During official meetings, France has always recognized Italy's coordination role as far as the situation in Libya is concerned".
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
