Libya seeks release from U.N. arms embargo

UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 19 (UPI) -- Libya asked the United Nations remove an arms embargo so it can combat Islamic State forces within its borders.

Libyan Foreign Minister Mohammed al-Dairi told the U.N. Security Council Wednesday the embargo, in place since the fall of Libyan leader Muammar Ghadafi in 2011 to protect civilians from pro-Ghadafi forces, would "help us build our national army's capacity, and this would come through a lifting of the embargo on weapons so our army can receive materiel and weapons so as to deal with this rampant terrorism. If we fail to have arms provided to us, this can only play into the hands of extremists."

Egyptian Foreign Minister Samah Shoukry declared his country's support of the Libyan request at the Security Council meeting. Egypt conducted airstrikes on IS militants in Libya earlier in the week in response to the deaths of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians.

Western diplomats remain concerned that arms shipments could be taken by militia groups in Libya, a country already overstocked with weapons. Libya has two competing governments, the one headquartered in Tobruk is the government currently recognized by the United Nations, and the country's three major cities -- Tripoli, Misrata and Benghazi -- are controlled by militias opposed to the Tobruk leadership.