ROME // Washington and its allies vowed on Tuesday to "accelerate and intensify" the fight against ISIL in Syria and Iraq but distanced themselves from calls for military action to curb the group's expansion in Libya.
Meeting in Rome, ministers from the 23 countries involved in the US-led coalition battling the extremist group said progress was being made in pushing ISIL back in Syria and Iraq and cutting off its sources of finance and energy.
Pledging to step up their action, the coalition said, "We will intensify and accelerate the campaign against ISIL/Daesh in Iraq and Syria, act in concert to curb its global ambitions, and take every measure to ensure the protection of our citizens."
"We reaffirm our commitment to deliver a lasting defeat to this barbaric organisation."
The statement expressed concern over "the growing influence" of ISIL in Libya but stopped short of threatening air strikes. It said only that the allies would "continue to monitor closely developments there, and stand ready to support" a proposed national unity government that is struggling to establish itself.
Italian foreign minister Paolo Gentiloni and US secretary of state John Kerry opened the talks by telling their allies that ISIL was adapting to the pressure on its heartland and redirecting its efforts towards Libya and into attacks like those in Paris, Ankara and San Bernadino, California.
"We are surely not here to brag about anything," Mr Kerry cautioned after saying ISIL fighters have lost 40 per cent of their territory in Iraq and 20 per cent in Syria.
Mr Gentiloni added: "If anything we need to be ever more wary and more watchful because we know that the more Daesh is squeezed in its core territories, the more tempted it is to pursue its terrorist activities elsewhere.
"We are witnessing renewed activity in Libya and in sub-Saharan Africa," he said.
Within the coalition, Italy has taken the lead in planning how to address the ISIL threat which is just a short boat ride from its southern shores, in and around the Libyan coastal city of Sirte.
Meanwhile, the European Union unveiled new measures on Tuesday to curb the financing of extremist groups amid calls for more action following last year's attacks in Paris.
The proposals aim to track extremists as they move money or assets and limit their ability to raise funds by targeting their sources of income.
The plan would oblige EU financial institutions to carry out compulsory checks on money flows from countries with doubtful records on money-laundering and extremist financing.
It would boost intelligence-sharing among EU finance experts and give them more access to bank and payment data.
* Agence France-Presse and Associated Press
http://ift.tt/1QEYhd7
3Novices Europe
No comments:
Post a Comment