BREAKING NEWS

France says time to act on Libya, will push for EU sanctions

PARIS - France's foreign minister on Thursday said there was no time to waste in forming a Libyan government that would pave the way for action against Islamic State and he would push for sanctions against individuals at a European meeting next week.
French officials have been warning for more than a year that the political void is creating favorable conditions for Islamist groups. Efforts to establish a UN backed unity government in the oil producing nation have been stalled by resistance from hardliners.
"We have to fight Daesh where it is trying to develop in Libya, but the precondition is the constitution of a new national unity government," Jean-Marc Ayrault told i-Tele television, referring to the Arabic acronym for Islamic State.
"We can't wait any longer. It's enough. There are some who are blocking things for personal reasons and their own interests and I think we shouldn't exclude putting sanctions on them."
Ayrault said he would press for European foreign ministers to agree sanctions on individuals at a ministerial meeting in Brussels on March 14.