London, March 24 (IANS): The worsening security situation in Libya has enabled the Islamic State (IS) terrorists to set up shop there, and illegal migration from the country could help the IS stage attacks in Europe, British legislators have warned.
The British House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee said on Tuesday that Libya's collapse since the overthrow of its former ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 has turned it into a potential security threat to Britain.
"The fact that (IS) appears to have taken advantage of the chaos in Libya to establish itself there is a security concern reaching beyond Libya, and is further motivation for the international community to provide assistance," the committee said.
"Illegal migration through and from Libya is undoubtedly a major concern, not least because of a potential security threat from terrorists who could use this means to travel to Europe to conduct attacks."
The International Development Committee, on the other hand, said that youth unemployment in developing countries might cause unrest contributing to a rise in extremism.
The British foreign office said that it was working closely with allied countries and the UN to "help deliver a lasting political settlement that will bring an end to the violence" in Libya.
Numerous militias govern their own patches of territory in Libya, with successive governments struggling to exercise control.
The Foreign Affairs Committee said that there was a "particular responsibility" on Britain to help Libya "repair itself" and restore a stable government.
Britain supported anti-Gaddafi rebels with airstrikes during the struggle to end his regime. After the Libyan leader was killed in October 2011, attempts at establishing a democratic government have failed to bring stability.
"I am afraid in a more dangerous world, you have to spend more on defence, and in the long run that's in your interest,” Rory Stewart, the Conservative chairman of the Defence Select Committee, said.
"Because an unstable world in which refugees are spilling across into the Mediterranean, when 20,000 foreign fighters are turning up with (Islamic State), this is a world which is really worrying," he noted.