News / North Africa

Militants call on Libyans to mobilize against foreign forces

Sunday, 24 July 2016 5:14 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 24 July 2016 5:32 AM ]

Libyan troops, loyal to renegade General Khalifa Haftar, sit on an armored personnel carrier during a demonstration in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, August 14, 2015. (Photo by AFP)

A group of armed militant groups in Libya has called on the people to fight foreign forces in the North African country, describing their presence as a “blatant aggression.”

The announcement was made by a group of Libyan armed groups collectively known as the Revolutionary Shura Council of Benghazi in a statement published on Saturday.

“We call on all the Libyan people to mobilize and defend their religion… and expel all foreign troops from Libya,” the statement read.

The French military presence in Libya is tantamount to an “invasion,” the statement added.

Foreign forces, including from France, the US and Britain, are in Libya in a purported fight against the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group.

The presence of French ground troops in Libya was revealed on Wednesday when the French Defense Ministry confirmed the death of three soldiers in a helicopter crash while on a mission in the North African country.

France had previously claimed that only its planes were involved in reconnaissance flights in areas controlled by Daesh militants in Libya.

The confirmation prompted hundreds of people to take to the streets in several cities across Libya to protest the French military presence in their country.

Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) denounced the presence of foreign troops as a “violation” of the country’s sovereignty.

Libyans gather around the remains of a helicopter that crashed near Benghazi, killing three French soldiers, July 20, 2016. (Photo by Reuters)

The US and the UK had both confirmed in May the presence of their troops in Libya.

Libya has been the scene of violence since 2011, when an uprising coupled with NATO military intervention led to the toppling and killing of longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

The country had had two rival administrations since mid-2014, when militants overran Tripoli and forced the parliament to flee to the country’s remote east.

The two governments achieved a consensus on forming the GNA last December after months of United Nations-brokered talks to restore order to the country.

However, the GNA has had difficulty taking over as fighting continues among a plethora of militia groups in the country.

Daesh, which is mainly active in Syria and Iraq, has taken advantage of the political chaos in Libya to increase its presence there.

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