After the confirmation of the beheading of 21 Coptic Egyptians by Islamic State jihadists, Egypt has bombed ISIS positions in Libya. "Our forces have carried out targeted raids on ISIS camps - reads a statement from the Egyptian army - and on Daesh gathering places and weapons depots in Libya", the acronym by which in Arabic it is indicated the Islamic State. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has urgently convened the National Defense Council, which brings together the Prime Minister, the defense and interior ministers, and the high military ranks as well as the head of state.
Meanwhile, it landed at dawn today at the Syracusan port of Augusta the catamaran with a hundred Italians on board evacuated from Libya due to the escalation of terror linked to the advance of IS. The flight of the Italians came after the threats made by the Caliphate against the Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni, described as a "crusader minister". From the Farnesina they underlined that the return of Italians from Tripoli is not an "evacuation" from the North African country, but "relieving operations" of the compatriots present in Libya.
"Now the problem is not Triton or Mare Nostrum, but Libya - said the interior minister, Angelino Alfano –, the strong choice of foreign policy that concerns the international community and the UN: Libya must be made an absolute priority. If the Caliph's militias advance faster than the decisions of the international community, how can we put out the fire in Libya and stem the migratory flows? We risk an exodus without precedent and with a difficulty of control. By control I mean the ability to reduce their number and to intercept potential jihadists".
The number one of the Interior Ministry therefore embraces the openness to the intervention arrived by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Paolo Gentiloni, and by the owner of the Defense, Roberta Pinotti. The same line also has the support of the leader of Forza Italia, Silvio Berlusconi. The premier Matteo Renzi, on the other hand, braked on the possibility of military intervention.