Centrum Stosunków Międzynarodowych - 07 September 2016: France warns that IS militants could spill to Egypt and Tunisia

The French Defense Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, raised concerns about IS fighters who could flee to Tunisia and Egypt, from Libya. "We should begin to look seriously at the question of the spread of the terrorists once Sirte...(is) emptied of the terrorists" he stated in a conference, in Paris, on Monday. He specified that "Indirectly this will pose new risks for Tunisia and Egypt". Le Drian's Tunisian counterpart, Farhat Horchani, also attended the conference and called for further cooperation. He stated that it was a "shame" that all the neighboring states of Libya are not organized. He declared: "We have a large number of foreign fighters who arrived from Sirte, or from Syria. I can see no strategy, no cooperation between the states". Ultimately, the forces loyal to Libya's Government of National Accord (GNA) recaptured the main strongholds in north Africa, still backed by US air strikes.