Libyan leader threatens to use ‘force’ to foil east autonomy bid

Libyan leader Mustapha Abdul Jalil on Wednesday said he would defend national unity “with force” if necessary, after tribal leaders and a political faction declared autonomy for an eastern region.

“We are not prepared to divide Libya,” Abdul Jalil said as he called on leaders in the eastern Cyrenaica region to engage in dialogue and warned them against remnants of the regime of slain leader Muammar Qaddafi in their ranks.

“They should know that there are infiltrators and remnants of Qaddafi’s regime trying to exploit them now and we are ready to deter them, even with force,” he said in televised remarks during a conference in Misrata to draft a national charter, according to AFP.

A faction of tribal and political leaders in the oil-reach east of the country is trying to carve out a semi-autonomous territory and has called for a federal system of governance. Read More