European countries are coordinating intelligence amid concerns that Islamic State is gaining a foothold in Libya.

The European Union and Nato countries are continuously monitoring the situation in Libya, Foreign Affairs Minister George Vella said when contacted yesterday after the US announced it was closely following efforts by IS to train a couple of hundred fighters in eastern Libya.

International media reported that Italy's foreign minister, Paolo Gentiloni, discussed the Libyan situation with his counterparts from Spain, Portugal, and Malta after an OSCE meeting.

Dr Vella, speaking to Times of Malta from Switzerland, where he addressed the OSCE meeting, said Mediterranean states were holding discussions to raise awareness about the situation in the North African country.

“We are not just monitoring the situation but also discussing what to do in any possible eventuality,” he said, adding there was sharing of information.

Italian Foreign Minister minister Gentiloni told journalists: "What you have in Libya is, on one side, the problem of infiltration and the spread of extremist positions, and on the other the fact that non-extremist forces fight each other without accepting the idea of sitting around a table for a possible reconciliation".

"Therefore, the UN is trying to bring together all the moderate elements from the various factions to seek a unified legislative and electoral process," he added.

The international community's position, Gentiloni stated, was that "none of the moderate groups can refuse to participate in reconciliatory talks by demanding to be the sole protagonist".

Spanish foreign minister Jose' Manuel Garcia-Margallo emphasised the "risks for military, energy, and immigration security" that the Libyan crisis represents for stability in the region and Mediterranean area, especially the danger of ISIS infiltrators. . " 

The head of the US Africa Command, General David Rodriguez, said it was not yet clear how closely aligned the trainees were with IS or whether the effort should be targeted by American forces. 

Last month, Maltese diplomats in Tripoli were recalled following pressure for recognition from Libya’s two rival parliaments and discourse about the arrival of IS in Libya.

In August, Dr Vella had already urged vigilance at the possible infiltration of extremists from IS into Libya and, possibly, Malta.

In a public lecture at the University of Malta yesterday, an international relations lecturer said the “ugly phenomenon” of IS was a result of the bitterness of people in Iraq who were invaded in the name of democracy and were today living in total chaos. Arsalan Alshinawi, who was born in Baghdad, was speaking on the rise of the IS in Iraq and the misery of democratization.

“There was a system under Muammar Gaddafi in Libya and Saddam Hussein in Iraq but, with their removal, there is complete chaos now. Saddam and Gaddafi were not just two individuals but they represented a system. In fact, today, we are seeing pro- and anti-Saddam and Gaddafi militants fighting each other,” he said. (See video) 

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