Italy mulls Libya intervention after Tunis attack

Rome - After this week’s terror attack in Tunisia, Italy is stepping up Navy and air patrols in the Mediterranean amid growing pressure for an Italian-led U.N. peace-keeping intervention in Libya to contain Isis, diplomatic sources say.

The 21 dead in Wednesday’s attack – including four Italian nationals - underlined the current geopolitical turmoil of the Mediterranean region caused by the spread of Islamic terrorism as well as highlighting Libya’s key role because of its geographical location – extremely close to Italy - that might be used as a bridge to destabilise security in Western countries.

Italy is now at a crossroads. Libya represents the last ‘civil’ bastion resisting the Islamic Caliphate. Civil war and clashes continue between Tobruk forces and the ones loyal to the Islamist coalition Libya Dawn. The resulting mistrust between these two rival governments is fostering terrorist groups such as Da’esh, which creates more chaos within the region.

However, Libya not only represents for Italy a well-trusted international ally – especially until the overthrow of Gaddafi in 2011 - but also a profitable economic partner. Indeed, Italy can’t ignore that it is heavily dependent on imports to meet its energy needs and a significant portion of Italy's imported natural gas comes from Algeria and Libya. Specifically, natural gas imports from Libya were around 4.3 billion cubic feet in 2014, predicted to reach 6.2 billion at the end of 2015.

“Following the aggravation of the terrorist threat, it is necessary to reinforce naval-air devices deployed in the central Mediterranean, in order to protect national interests” announced Roberta Pinotti, Minister of Defence, in a statement.

“The new operation ‘Mare Sicuro’ will deploy more ships, patrols, maritime security teams, fixed and rotary wing aircraft as well as drones” added Pinotti, revealing Italy’s concrete engagement in the protection of communication lines, trading routes and at countering the terrorism threat.

Likewise, the Italian Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi is pushing for UN intervention in Libya because “the Mediterranean region is central and is at the heart of Europe not at its periphery” he commented on Friday. The objective then is to deploy, throughout the coming months, a peacekeeping mission under UN supervision, although Renzi concluded, “this would only be possible if there were a united, national government in Libya.”

Therefore, it seems that the possibility of an Italian military intervention in Libya - backed by a UNSC resolution - together with its allies, could come sooner than expected. The EU will also step up its engagement on counter terrorism in Libyan territory as well as strengthening border security. This will help to protect against a major threat in terms of clandestine immigration, halt the flow of foreign fighters and disrupt the smuggling of weapons. Meanwhile, the ‘Mare Sicuro’ maritime operation will take place alongside the ‘Triton’ operations in declaration of intent from the Italian government.

There are many things at stake for the peninsular country including the possibility of losing a strategic ally and subsequent economic interests, Italy’s reliability as leading peacekeeping force of the Mediterranean area and there is a risk of becoming a more attractive target for terrorist attacks. Having taken these things into consideration, the sooner a coordinated military intervention is approved; the better will be for Italy, Libya and the stability of the region. Time is definitely against us.