Boris Johnson made a gaffe while delivering a speech at a Conservative Party conference fringe meeting. The diplomat was talking about how Libya could be transformed into a popular tourist destination and when he suddenly remarked:
"The only thing they have to do is clear the dead bodies away."
LISTEN: @BorisJohnson has suggested parts of Libya could be the next Dubai “if they clear the dead bodies away” at a #CPC17 fringe event. pic.twitter.com/zRtFyK8Z6g
— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) 3 октября 2017 г.
The comment later caused a barrage of criticism with Johnson's political opponents calling on the diplomat to resign. However, the British chief diplomat has fired back, saying that "people with no knowledge or understanding of Libya want to play politics with the appallingly dangerous reality in Sirte." He also tried to exonerate himself by saying that the dead bodies of Daesh militant should be taken away from the city streets.
The reality there is that the clearing of corpses of Daesh fighters has been made much more difficult by IEDs and booby traps
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) 3 октября 2017 г.
According to Reuters, on Thursday the Libyan parliament's committee for foreign affairs called the comments "unacceptable," demanding that Johnson apologize.
"The committee demands a clarification from the British prime minister and an apology to the Libyan people," the parliamentarians stated.
Libya has been in a state of turmoil since 2011 when a civil war began in the country and its longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown. In December 2015, Libya’s rival governments — the Council of Deputies based in Tobruk and the Tripoli-based General National Congress — agreed to create the Government of National Accord, to form the Presidency Council and to end the political impasse.
