Head of Munich Security Conf.: EU Should Make Military Intervention in Libya

The European Union should make militarily intervention in the Libyan civil war if necessary, according to Wolfgang Ischinger, the head of the Munich Security Conference in an interview on Monday.

“Europe could provide its military weight into the equation to achieve a ceasefire,” Ischinger informed newspapers of the Funke media group.

“Diplomacy often remains mere rhetoric if you are unable to manage the threat of armed action as leverage in international conflicts,” he added.

As Germany prepares to take on the rotating EU presidency on July 1, the bloc must speak with the language of power to better represent its interests.

Although the German government held a major international conference on Libya in Berlin in January, “the result, unfortunately, has been so far almost zero,” he said.

He also referred to a peace summit that saw a UN arms embargo signed by several states and organizations. The truce was, however, found to be immediately violated.

Germany’s diplomatic appeals were largely ignored, because for the acting powers in the conflict, such as Russia, Turkey, and Egypt, “whoever is in charge of the military is the one in charge,” said Ischinger.

Conflict in Libya

Libya has been marred in violence between competing forces, militias, and extremists since the toppling and killing of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The conflict now pits the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) against the Libyan National Army (LNA), led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, for control of the country.