By Libya Herald reporter.
Tripoli, 23 February 2016:
Italy will allow US drones to fly to Libya from Italian airbases on a case . . .[restrict]by case basis as part of the fight against the so-called Islamic State (IS), Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi has said. Permission for the flights was reportedly given last month.
“We are in complete harmony with our international allies”, he said in a radio interview.
However, speaking in Istanbul, his foreign minister, Paolo Gentiloni has said that allowing the bases to be used did was “not a prelude to a military intervention”.
The authorisation to allow the American drones to fly was not specifically aimed at Libya, he added, for counter-terrorism operations in general.
Two drones were from said to have been flown from Sigonella airbase in Sicily last Friday as part of the US attack on Sabratha.
The Italian statements come as the Americans report that IS is trying to get as many foreign fighters to head to Libya as possible. US special envoy for the anti-IS coalition Brett McGurk, speaking to reporters at the White House, today said that although Washington wants the Libyan national unity government in place as soon as possible, it is gravely concened about IS expansion in Libya and will not wait to hit at IS targets there, given the gravity of the situation. [/restrict]
