Interior Minister, Fathi Bashagha

Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha has said that political crises and internal wars have taken a great toll on the country, aggravating the desperate situation and fuelling organized crime and forces of evil.

In his opening address to the 37th session of the Council of Arab Interior Ministers, taking place in Tunisia, Bashagha indicated that Libya is at the most critical moments in its history, due to the wars fueled by the counter-revolutionary forces seeking to thwart democracy and drag the country back to the autocratic rule.

"Countries which favoured neutrality and to remain silent in such delicate circumstances must be blamed," Bashagha underscored, emphasizing that policies of specific countries supporting the evil forces against Libya also share the blame.

Bashagha noted that the meeting of Arab interior ministers aims to create a common vision of a safer homeland able to face difficulties and challenges. "We also meet to examine the security of the Arab nation, and for the revival of our nations and their renaissance, amid the growing dangers and threats," Bashagha added.

He continued "despite what Libya is going through, we insist to continue our fight against terrorism, and we have proved our capacity to face those terrorist groups".

He reviewed the progress achieved by the ministry in reducing the rate of crime and its handling of sensitive and delicate issues, such as human trafficking, smuggling, and protecting Libyan territory in the framework of the Tunisian-Libyan cooperation agreement.

The Arab interior ministers met in Tunis on Sunday to discuss common security issues, first and foremost, combating terrorism, in addition to supporting and enhancing security cooperation among Arab countries, stressing the importance of security coordination between the Arab security services in order to face challenges in this regard.