French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Friday international intervention was needed to end the crisis in Libya. Calls for military intervention, he added, have been on the rise. "The terrorist groups in Libya pose a major threat to the region and to France; it is time for international intervention," he said. Le Drian stressed the French role in North Africa, Mali and Niger, during a visit to a French military base in Madama, Niger, near the Libyan border. Senegal, Niger, Chad, and Mauritania have blamed the insurgency in Libya on the Western intervention to overthrow Mu'ammar Ghaddafi in 2011, adding that it was the West's responsibility to resolve the Libyan situation. Three hundred thousand Libyan refugees fled Libya following fierce battles between Islamist militias and pro-government forces led by Army General Khalifa Haftar. The battle over legitimacy following the ouster of Ghaddafi left over 100,000 dead and countless injured. Dozens of militants in the Libyan town of Derna have pledged allegiance to ISIS. Last September, the US, along with Egypt, 13 other countries and the United Nations urged all parties in Libya to refrain from violence.
