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London Ready to Consider Military Deployment to Libya

© AFP 2023 / SAFIN HAMEDBritish Foreign Minister Philip Hammond (File)
British Foreign Minister Philip Hammond (File) - Sputnik International
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UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has not ruled out sending troops in Libya.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has not ruled out sending troops to fight Islamic State (Daesh) militants in Libya, in a Saturday interview with a UK newspaper.

"It wouldn’t make sense to rule anything out because you never know how things are going to evolve," Hammond told The Telegraph. "If naval or air support was requested for such an action, we would obviously look at it."

Several EU nations have been on a standby to send soldiers to the North African country as Daesh mounted attacks on Libyan oil ports in an attempt to spread over the northern coast, which is considered to be a springboard to Europe.

US President Barack Obama (L) talks during a press conference with Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron (R) at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in central London on April, 22, 2016 following a meeting at Downing Street - Sputnik International
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US, UK Have No Plans for Ground Troops in Libya - Obama
Hammond said he did not expect an invitation from Libya’s divided government any time soon, but added his country reserved the right to protect its nationals should Daesh presence in Libya become a major security threat.

Libya has been in a state of turmoil since the ouster of its long-time ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. A security vacuum allowed Daesh to spread from Syria and Iraq to Libya and seize a pocket of territory centered on Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte in 2014.

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