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Libyan PM criticizes US, UK and EU for failing to supply weapons

By REUTERS

FEBRUARY 24, 2015 20:58

CAIRO/TRIPOLI - Libya's official Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni on Tuesday criticized the United States, Britain and European Union for failing to supply arms to his forces as they battle those of a rival government.

The tough comments come a day after Libya's elected parliament, allied to Thinni, suspended its participation in U.N.-sponsored talks to try to end the power struggle between the two rival administrations and assemblies.

Thinni has been confined to a rump state in the east since a rival faction called Libya Dawn seized the capital Tripoli last year, reinstating an old assembly known as the GNC and setting up a rival government.

Thinni and the House of Representatives, also based in the east, enjoy the recognition of world powers but anti-Western sentiment has been building up. Many normal people demand military support in the power struggle with Tripoli, four years after the NATO-backed ousting of Muammar Gaddafi.

"Unfortunately, the international community and especially the United States, Britain and the European Union have refused to arm the Libyan army," Thinni told pan-Arab channel Al-Arabiya.

"Libya Dawn is part of militant Islamists which get weapons, ammunition and supplies from all over the world," he said. "But America and Britain have other ideas against the interest of the Libyan people."

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