Libyan military Chief Colonel Al-Masmari to Echorouk: “4.000 foreign Jihadists in Libya and we regret Algeria’s refusal to supply us with weapons”

The Commander of the General staff of the Army in the Libyan Government of Premier Abdullah Al Thini, Colonel Ahmed Al-Masmari, has affirmed that the number of foreign fighters now present in Libya is estimated at around 4000 “jihadists” from several nationalities, mainly from Yemen, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, Iraq and Syria in addition to Africans.

Libyan Army Colonel Al-Masmari, said in an exclusive statement on Friday to “Echorouk” that the Libyan army had arrested a number of foreign “Jihadists”, including Algerians, but the Libyan military officer made sure not to confuse between the proper Algerian citizenship and terrorism, stressing that terrorism has no religion and no nationality.

He further expressed regret at the adamant position of Algeria which refuses to deliver weapons to the Libyan army, despite the fact that the Algerian authorities know perfectly well the devastation wreaked by the scourge of terrorism on their soil in the 90’s as well as the nefarious convictions of terrorists” he said.

Colonel Al-Samari also reaffirmed the legal authorities’ firm refusal to initiate any dialogue with the “Daesh” terrorist organization and with all those militiamen allied with it, adding that the steady fight against extremism in Libya will finally be purging the country from them, while praising the role of the Libyan tribes in this salutary battle.

He further underlined that the divergences between some tribes and the legal powers-that-be in the country about the green flag and the new flag of Libya would be totally dispelled after the conclusion of the ongoing battle against the “Daesh”  scourge and its total eradication.