PARIS: Libya's foreign minister on Tuesday renewed a call for the lifting of an arms embargo and for international air strikes to help tackle the Islamic State group which threatens to create a "rear base" in the country.
"The situation is extremely serious," Mohamed al-Dayri, foreign minister for Libya's internationally-recognised government based in Misrata, told AFP on a visit to Paris.
"People are dying, are crucified, are disinterred from their graves, are burned alive. Libyans don't understand why the international community doesn't wake up to these dangers."
Libya has two rival governments and has been torn apart since the international community helped oust its leader Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.
One government which Dayri is part of controls most eastern regions after fleeing Tripoli in July 2014, driven out by a motley coalition of Islamists and militants.
Dayri said the Islamic State (IS) group was present in the towns of Derna, Benghazi, Sirte and Sabratha.
"They have not yet seized oil fields, but we fear they might come to control several wells," he added.
AFP
