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Libyan Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thanion Wednesday said that Egypt will help train the Libyan army, and then called on his compatriots to fight the militia that has overrun parts of the country.
Thani and most of the parliament elected in June are virtually in domestic exile in the city of Tobruk because of extensive security problems in capital city Tripoli, where a parallel administration has been established.
Egypt shares the long and porous Libyan Desert with Libya, and has supported Thani against militia men who have seized Tripoli and are fighting for control of Benghazi, the country’s second largest city.
“We are facing terrorism.I call on all honorable citizens who refuse to be ruled by force to prepare to defend themselves. To die standing is better than to live humiliated”, Thani said at joint press conference with Egyptian Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab.
Thani, who was in Cairo meeting Egyptian officials, added that the talks are aimed at “coordinating cooperation (with Egypt) on implementing a practical plan” which would include Egypt “training and improving the efficiency of the (Libyan) army”.
Libya has been slowly descending into chaos since Muammar Gadhafi was toppled three years ago in an uprising, with the interim authorities confronted by the militias that drove Gadhafi out.
Thani’s visit comes only days after dozens of soldiers were killed in car bombings at Benghazi airport and in conflicts with fighters loyal to former generalwho had launched a campaign in May against a militant force in Benghazi. Algeria and Egypt, which both share international borders with Libya, are concerned that the violence will spill over into their side of the border.
Over twenty Egyptian soldiers have been killed by militiamen in recent months in the western part of the country, raising fears that insurgents fighting government troops in Cairo are looking to open a new front from the Libyan border.