Mediaboss Marketing

Published January 05, 2015

Libyan representative at the Arab League Ashour Abu-Rashed attends an emergency representatives meeting to discuss the conflict in Libya, at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Jan. 5, 2015. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)(The Associated Press)

Representatives of the Arab League attend an emergency meeting to discuss the conflict in Libya, at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Jan. 5, 2015. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)(The Associated Press)

Arab League Secretary General Nabil Elaraby, center, chairs an emergency representatives meeting to discuss the conflict in Libya, at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Jan. 5, 2015. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)(The Associated Press)

PARIS French President Francois Hollande is ruling out unilateral military intervention in Libya but says French forces will strike Islamic extremists leaving the country to bring arms to Africa's Sahel region.

Hollande urged the United Nations to take action to stem growing violence in the North African country.

"We are making sure to contain the terrorism that took refuge there, in southern Libya. But France will not intervene in Libya because it's up to the international community to take its responsibility," Hollande said.

Libya is mired in the worst fighting since dictator Moammar Gadhafi was overthrown in 2011, leaving the country with two rival governments. In the chaos, arms have flowed from Libya into Africa's Sahel region, home to several militant groups. French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has described southern Libya as a "terrorist hub."

Speaking Monday on France-Inter radio, Hollande said French forces will strike the fighters "every time they leave these places where they are hiding" in southern Libya.

To do that, France is setting up a military base in northern Niger, 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the lawless Libyan border region. About 200 troops are deployed in the desert outpost at Madama.

See the rest here:
France vows to strike terrorists leaving Libya, but rules out military intervention in Libya