After diplomacy, armies. In Libya, UN mediation seems not to be enough: the vote for the new Parliament of national unity has been postponed once again and at this point the United States, Great Britain, France and Italy are reportedly preparing an alternative plan to counter the advance of the Isis in the country. An unconfirmed hypothesis also speaks of a possible division of the country into three: Tripolitania, Cyrenaica and Fezzan.
In this context, France seems to have taken a step forward. According to Le Monde, Paris is already conducting "unofficial" military operations against ISIS in Libya. These would be secret operations conducted by units of special troops, in particular by 180 soldiers already operating in Cyrenaica. France would also be active with air raids.
Various sources - adds Le Monde - also speak of "clandestine operations" conducted by the Directorate General for Foreign Security, or by intelligence. “The last thing to do would be to intervene in Libya. We need to avoid any overt military engagement, and instead act discreetly,” a defense official confided to the newspaper.
In Libya, the newspaper always writes, the French objective is not to win the war but to strike the leading cadres of ISIS. An operation that Paris is carrying out in concert with Washington and London, as demonstrated by the American raid on February 19th in Sabratha.
French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian reacted harshly against Le Monde, saying the newspaper "undermines national defence". The minister has asked the Directorate for the Protection of Defense Security to open an investigation, a procedure which implies the possibility of sentences of up to three years' imprisonment for the newspaper's sources and a fine of up to 45 euros.
