Thursday, April 30, 2015

Report: Obama Opposes Egypt's Plan to Launch Large Assault Against ISIS in Libya

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Egypt is getting ready to launch a large air and ground attack against the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) in eastern Libya DebkaFile reports, quoting military and intelligence sources.
The Obama administration is reportedly opposed to the operation.
“Egypt is massing large-scale ground and air forces in the Western Desert along the Libyan border, in preparation for a military campaign to capture eastern Libya — Cyrenaica — from the Islamist State of Syria and Iraq — ISIS — occupation,” reports DebkaFile.
“The substantial naval and marine forces assembling at Egypt’s Mediterranean ports indicate the possible launching of the offensive by dropping Egyptian marines on the Libyan coast around Derna (pop: 100,000), which ISIS has made its provincial capital,” it added. “They may be accompanied by simultaneous landings of paratroops from the air.”
Some officials have warned that ISIS may use Libya to launch attacks against Europe.
The DebkaFile report notes that the Obama administration is against a direct invasion of Libya by Egypt, but would support Cairo taking action through local Libyan militias.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fatteh El-Sisi was not convinced by CIA Director John Brennan who related Obama’s position on April 19.
“President El-Sisi was not surprised to hear from the CIA director that the Obama administration objects to a direct Egyptian invasion of Libya, but would not oppose Cairo acting through local Libyan militias,” said DebkaFile.
“Brennan leaned hard on the Egyptian president to follow Washington’s line, but El-Sisi refused,” it added later.
President El-Sisi did tell the CIA director that he does not plan to keep the Egyptian army in Libya. He is planning to pull his troops out after the jihadists are defeated. Ultimately, El-Sisi said he would hand power back to the elected Libyan government.
ISIS’ presence in eastern Libya and Sinai poses an unacceptable threat to El-Sisi’s country, noted the report.
“He has been warned in a number of intelligence reports that the Islamic State’s terrorists have already penetrated some Egyptian towns and even infiltrated certain army units,” it said.
ISIS is reportedly beefing up its presence in eastern Libya with reinforcements from Syria and Iraq to counter Egypt’s planned assault.
“From Syria, they are traveling by air or sea through the Mediterranean; from Iraq, through the Sinai Peninsula, whence oil and drug rings smuggle them across the Suez Canal and Egypt,” said DebkaFile.
Libya has been engulfed in unrest since Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown and executed in 2011 with the support of the Obama administration. Various tribes, militias, and political groups are competing for power in Libya.
The country has been split by two warring factions. One is led by the elected government operating out of Tobruk and the other by militias in Tripoli.
The Obama administration and other Western nations have been reluctant to intervene.
Egypt, without the support of the U.S., launched airstrikes against ISIS targets in Libya after the jihadist group beheaded 21 Egyptian Christians.

Saturday, April 25, 2015

Ethiopian mass protest against IS killings in Libya - BBC News




People at a rally in Ethiopia's capital the Addis Ababa, 22 April 2015
Ethiopians have been shocked by the killings which have been condemned throughout the world


Tens of thousands of Ethiopians have attended a rally in the capital, Addis Ababa, condemning the murders of Ethiopians by Islamic State militants.
More than 20 migrant workers - most thought to be Ethiopian Christians - were killed by the Libyan branch of IS.
It released videos on Sunday of some of the men being beheaded and others shot.
Ethiopia's prime minister warned the protesters about the dangers of illegal immigration and described the killings as "Satanic".
IS and other jihadist groups are active in many towns in Libya, which has been torn by civil conflict since last year - and has been unstable since long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi was toppled in 2011.


Ethiopian demonstrators in Addis Ababa hold a banner during a rally - Wednesday 22 April 2015
There was a tone of defiance at the rally
Protesters hold a banner showing two of the people killed by IS in Ethiopia
Demonstrators held up placards of some of those who were killed
Relatives of some of the victims at the rally in Meskel Square
Some of the relatives of the victims also attended the rally in Meskel Square
Orthodox Christians at the Addis Ababa rally in Ethiopia - Wednesday 22 April 2015
And religious leaders from the Orthodox Church were in the crowd


"This week's cruel act which was committed against our citizens in Libya not only gives a glimpse into terrorism, but also shows the Satanic acts and objectives of those who committed the act," Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn told the mass rally in Addis Ababa's Meskel Square.
He also urged unity in the fight against what he called "home-grown extremism" in Ethiopia, and said those who chose to an illegal route to migrate risked falling prey to human traffickers.
"It is clear to everyone that our fellow citizens all have the right to live and work in any part of the world. But the illegal migration that leads to unnecessary suffering and death carried out by illegal human traffickers must stop."
However, later the government-condoned protest broke into scuffles with some parts of the crowd throwing stones, chanting anti-government slogans and clashing with police.


People scamper from police in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, after a mass rally condemning the IS killings - 22 April 2015
There were some scuffles towards the end of the event
People at a rally in Ethiopia's capital the Addis Ababa, 22 April 2015
Elections will be held in Ethiopia next month
People at a rally in Ethiopia's capital the Addis Ababa, 22 April 2015
Some complain that the failure to raise living standards fuels the flow of migrants


Police fired rounds of tear gas at some towards the end of the demonstration, the AFP news agency reports.
The rally comes a month before Ethiopia holds parliamentary elections, the first since the death in 2012 of long-time leader Meles Zenawi.