Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry has slammed Turkey for sending foreign fighters from Syria to Libya. In a video address on Thursday at a meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, Shoukry warned that the success over the foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq achieved by the coalition is threatened by the role the Turkish government is currently playing in terms of recruiting, training and transferring thousands of foreign fighters from Syria to Libya. The Turkish practices are a clear violation of international law, of the UN Security Council's resolutions, and of the goals the coalition seeks, Shoukry said, adding that the coalition and the Security Council must make Turkey, which is a member of the anti-ISIS coalition, stop these practices and must hold it accountable. According to the Egyptian foreign ministry, Shoukry also said that while the global community was busy dealing with the coronavirus pandemic and its impacts, the coalition must continue in its efforts to curb ISIS's hopes to use the health crisis in order to organise terrorist attacks and to create safe havens. He hinted that the coalition must give its top priority and attention to the growing threat of ISIS in West Africa and must stop any attempts by the terrorist organisation to re-organise itself after its defeat in Iraq and Syria, with total respect for the sovereignty, united and regional safety of the two countries. The Egyptian government welcomes the joint efforts of the coalition and the Iraqi government to boost cooperation on counter-terrorism and to support stability in Iraq, he said, adding that the coalition must at the same time stand with the Syrian people by supporting a sustainable political reconciliation. Egypt is fully committed to the goals of the coalition and is continuing to fight at the forefront of the coalition, not only versus ISIS but against all terrorist organisations, including the Muslim Brotherhood, and what those organisations represent in terms of a threat to international security and peace.
