Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi urged the United States and Europe on Thursday to help the Libyan army in its fight against Islamist militants now to save the country from requiring intervention on the scale of Iraq and Syria.
Sisi said there was a danger to the region from conflict in Libya where two governments vie for legitimacy, one in Tripoli linked to Islamist militias, and an internationally-recognized government in the eastern city of Tobruk.
Egypt says militants cross the border to help Egyptian jihadist group Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis attack Egypt's security forces in the Sinai Peninsula. Ansar swore allegiance earlier this month to Islamic State, which is now facing U.S.-led air strikes in Iraq and Syria.
"When we deal with terrorism only in Iraq and Syria, Libya will begin to be an attractive region affecting the stability of... Libya and its neighbors. We will need the same measures happening in Iraq and Syria to be taken in Libya," Sisi said in an interview with France 24.
"The international community - Europe and the Americans - must help the Libyan national army regain its position and combat terrorism in Libya to restore security and stability."
Conflict between rival governments is only exacerbated by tensions between vying tribal groups, many having helped oust dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
Sisi reaffirmed on Thursday that Egypt was supporting the Libyan army but said it had refrained from direct intervention.
"If we intervened directly, I would not hesitate to announce that. But all we have done so far is to help the Libyan national army, the Libyan parliament, and the Libyan government."
Egypt is training anti-Islamist Libyan forces on its soil and sharing intelligence in a bid to stamp out militancy next door.
Security officials say Libyan pilots in Egyptian warplanes bombed militant targets in Libya earlier this year, but officials in Cairo also say non-intervention is the guiding policy.
"There are no Egyptian armed forces in Libya," Sisi said. "We protect our borders from inside our borders."
PARDON FOR AL JAZEERA JOURNALISTS
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Thursday he was considering pardoning two of the three Al Jazeera journalists jailed in his country.
The three journalists were sentenced to between seven and 10 years in jail on charges of spreading lies to help a "terrorist organization", an allusion to the Muslim Brotherhood, in a ruling that sparked a global outcry.
Sisi issued a decree last week that allows him to repatriate foreign prisoners, raising the prospect that Australian Peter Greste and Canadian-Egyptian Mohamed Fahmy could be released.
The third Al Jazeera journalist behind bars, Baher Mohamed, is Egyptian, so would not be expected to benefit.
"Let us say that this matter is being discussed to solve the issue," Sisi said in an interview with France 24 when asked if he would use a presidential pardon to free the two Al Jazeera journalists who held foreign nationalities.
Asked when a decision might be made, he said: "If we find this appropriate for the national security of Egypt, we will do it."
Sisi has previously refused to intervene in the case, suggesting that doing so would undermine judicial independence. But he said in July he wished the trio had been deported and not put on trial.
The Qatar-based Al Jazeera has called the accusations against its three journalists absurd. Human rights groups condemned their trial as a sham, Western governments decried the verdict, and the United Nations questioned Egypt's reputation and the independence of its judiciary.
Relations between Egypt and Qatar have been strained since mid-2013 when then-army chief Sisi ousted Islamist President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood.
But those tensions have showed signs of easing recently. Qatar expelled prominent Brotherhood leaders in September and Egypt on Wednesday welcomed an agreement to end an eight-month dispute amongst Gulf Arab states over Qatar's support for the Islamist group.
REUTERS