Malta is prepared to provide logistical support for a UN-mandated peacekeeping mission in Libya, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said yesterday.

His pledge came as Italy signalled it was prepared to send troops to the embattled North African state in the wake of dramatic developments that have seen Islamic State (known as IS) stake a claim on the coastal oil town of Sirte, which is about 600 kilometres from Malta.

“With a UN mandate there are no constitutional issues for us. One will have to see exactly what shape our support will take. I don’t feel we have the capacity to be committing troops but we are definitely looking at the possibility of offering logistical support,” Dr Muscat told The Sunday Times of Malta.

His words came after Italy’s Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said in a television interview that though Italy backed the efforts of UN special envoy Bernardino Leon to broker a ceasefire between warring factions, his government “is ready to fight, naturally in the context of an international mission”.

“We cannot accept the idea that there’s an active terrorist threat only a few hours from Italy by boat.”

Traffickers are forcing migrants to make the journey across the Mediterranean despite the severe weather conditions

Italy is committed to this course of action. Behind the scenes it has already spoken about being prepared to deploy up to 500 troops for such a mission, in a bid to attract similar commitments by other countries.

Militants allied to IS were believed earlier to be confined to Derna, almost on the border with Egypt, but on Thursday fighters previously allied to the Islamist group Ansar al-Sharia (Partisans of Islamic Law) pledged allegiance to IS and gave militias coming from the nearby city of Misurata until this morning to get out of the city or face them in battle.

This week militants affiliated with IS have claimed the coastal oil city of Sirte, which sits just 600km from Malta and 200km from Tripoli. Previously fighters aligned with the group were believed to be confined to the eastern town of Derna.

Photo posted on Twitter of militants pledging allegiance to ISIS after they took over Sirte’s public radio.

A Twitter account associated with IS posted a video on You Tube and photos showing gunmen after they took over Sirte’s public radio, which they used to broadcast their warning.

The development comes two weeks after militants carried out an armed attack on individuals inside the Maltese-owned Corinthia Hotel in Tripoli, killing at least 10 people before detonating bombs attached to their bodies.

In its monthly magazine, Dabiq, IS featured the Tripoli attack alongside the burning of Jordanian pilot Muath al-Kaseasbeh as part of its ongoing Jihad on “crusaders” and their allies in the Muslim world.

Diplomatic sources said that though there was progress in the last round of talks between Bernardino Leon, civil society representatives and the Tobruk and Tripoli governments, Italy is growing impatient with the process.

“Italy is looking at developments in Libya from two aspects. The first is related to the fear that ISIS might gain a foothold in Tripoli and the second is the impact of this on irregular migration,” the source said.

According to the latest intelligence analysis, traffickers are currently forcing migrants to make the journey across the Mediterranean despite the severe weather conditions, to force Europe into expanding its search and rescue operation.

Last night it was reported that a group of 600 migrants were rescued from six drifting boats about 50 miles north of the Libyan coast. It followed news that 300 migrants drowned after four dinghies they were travelling in got into difficulties.

The deaths prompted calls by many, including the UN refugee agency, for an enhanced search and rescue operation on the scale of the Italian Mare Nostrum search and rescue mission, which was terminated in November.

However, even the Italian government is now resisting talk of expanding search and rescue.

Addressing a similar call from his predecessor, Enrico Letta, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said “the problem is not Mare Nostrum or Triton (the ongoing Frontex rescue mission), we can ask more from Europe and we will… but the political point is to resolve the problem in Libya, where the situation is out of control”.

The themes were also picked up by the Nationalist Party, which yesterday welcomed the emphasis on the security of European citizens and the need to tackle radicalisation at last week’s EU summit.

However, it criticised Joseph Muscat’s government for asking Europe to “reinforce action against terrorist threats” while being the only EU prime minister who did not agree to form part of the global coalition against the Islamic State.

“In light of the growing threat of the Islamic State in Libya, this is a matter of concern. It shows that when it comes down to it, Joseph Muscat’s actions in the fight against terrorism do not match his words,” the PN said.

On this point, the government described the PN statement as irresponsible, adding that it was disappointed to see the consensus that exists on foreign policy that has been developed over the past seven years is being undermined.

Maltese hospital in Tripoli closed

Meanwhile, the Maltese-owned St James Hospital in Tripoli has been closed and all expatriate staff evacuated as a result of the deteriorating situation in Libya.