France want sanctions for Libyan officials blocking unity gov't goal

The French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault stressed the need for a European consensus to punish Libyan officials hampering the establishment of a national unity government in the country.

Ayrault, who is on a two-day visit to Tunis, said Friday that he would meet Prime Minister-designate within the Libyan government union, Fayez al-Sarraj.

#Libya French foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault says he plans to meet Libyan Prime Mi… https://t.co/PCNNDroYxL #LibyaWatch #ليبيا

— Libya Watch ®™ (@LibyaWatch_org) March 17, 2016

“The French position is very clear (…) that Libya may adopt a national unity government as soon as possible. It is near and (…) those who get in the way will suffer sanctions,” he warned.

Without wanting to mention names, the head of French diplomacy spoke of “a few people who get in the way for personal and financial interest reasons.”

He assured that the idea of ​​sanctions had “progressed” and that it was “a shared vision at European level”.

Libya is “a country today where weapons circulate and there are all forms of trafficking (…) We must absolutely stop this spiral,” he said.

Libya has been split between rival governments since 2014, a consequence of the chaos that engulfed the country after a 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime ruler Moammar Gadhafi.