The video issued by the Islamic State (IS) showing its supporters beheading 21 Egyptians Copts on a beach near Sirte is a fake according to Omar Al-Hassi, the Tripoli-based prime minister appointed by the continuing General National Congress.
“The alleged video of the killing 21 Coptic Egyptians is false and fabricated”, he stated on TV this evening, claiming that Sisi had himself targeted Egypt’s Copts and that he was using the story so he could invade Libya. That had become clear with Egypt’s request for military intervention in Libya, he said.
“Sisi is seeking to seize Cyrenaica in the east of Libya because it has oil and gas,” he claimed.
He thanked the Security Council for the rejecting the intervention request but insisted that the UN-brokered dialogue talks, reported to be taking place on Sunday in Morocco, again be suspended – “unless the United Nations bring justice to the Egyptian regime” for its “assault on civilians in Derna”.
Despite claiming the video a fake, Hassi then appeared to give credence to it, or at least terrorist crimes committed by IS, by suggesting that the militants were in fact Qaddafi loyalists.
“There are groups loyal to the Qaddafi regime out to damage our image in the international community,” he said. “Qaddafi’s followers are using the name of Daesh [IS] to carry out crimes in Libya.”
Turning to the crisis over non-payment of government employee salaries which now have to have National ID numbers linked to the names, he promised that the issue would soon be resolved.
“I can assure all Libyans that their January and February salaries will be paid within a few days.” There was no financial crisis in the country nor any need for austerity, he said. The issue was the national ID number.
The use of the ID number would curtail corruption which was damaging the country’s development, he said. “We can no longer accept corruption”.
He added that subsidies on imports would also be ended.
Hassi’s claims that there is no need for austerity runs counter to calls by the Central Bank of Libya for such a policy. Moreover, the Hassi government itself told the General National Congress last month that it needed to stop the payment of the family bonus and of subsidies on fuel and electricity, and suspend planned salary increases and the payment of any benefits to government officials.
By Abdul Kareem Jaffari.
