US President Barack Obama today scotched suggestions that the international community would deploy troops to Libya to prop up the fledgling unity government and fight the Islamic State group.
"There's no plan for ground troops in Libya," Obama said at a joint press conference in London with British Prime Minister David Cameron.
"I don't think that's necessary. I don't think it would be welcomed by this new government. It would send the wrong signal."
"What we can do is provide them with expertise, what we can do is provide them with training," he said.
"We can't wait if ISIL is starting to get a foothold there," he said, using an alternative acronym for IS.
"We are working not just with the Libyan government but a lot of our international partners to make sure that we're getting the intelligence we need, and in some cases actions to prevent ISIL having another stronghold from which to launch attacks against Europe or the United States," he said.
The European Union on Monday offered "concrete" support to Libya's new unity government to boost the economy and security, including training for the Libyan coastguard to stem the influx of migrants across the Mediterranean.
