Libya's unity government called on militias in the country to delay launching any offensive to retake the city of Sirte from Islamic State (ISIS) until a unified military command is established in the unstable country. "In absence of coordination and unified leadership ... the [Presidential] Council expresses its concern that the battle of Sirte against Daesh [ISIS] will be a confrontation between those armed forces," read a statement quoted by Reuters. "Accordingly, the Presidential Council, as the supreme commander of army, demands all Libyan military forces wait for it to appoint a joint leadership for the Sirte operation," the statement added. In the power vacuum created by the overthrow of the Muammar Gaddafi regime in 2011 Libya has been unable to establish a successful central authority since many of the ragtag armed groups that deposed Gaddafi fought each other for power. Amid the ensuing chaos ISIS managed to cease Sirte. The US hopes that a central authority in Libya will soon be established which will call in the US and the western powers to assist it in uprooting ISIS from Libya.
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