Government wants arms embargo to be loosened but the UN stands for monitoring measures.

The United Nations Organisation (UNO) has requested the creation of a maritime monitoring force to help Libya’s government prevent both the flow of weapons into the country and the illegal export of its oil, Associated Press reported.  

The monitoring force that has to be created by the U.N. Security Council would, “assist the government of Libya in securing its territorial waters" to prevent the flow of arms that would violate the embargo, the U.N. report was cited as saying. A panel of experts recommended the monitoring force in a U.N. report which said Libya’s ability to prevent the flow of weapons into and out of the chaotic country is "almost nonexistent”. The monitoring force also would prevent the "illegal export of crude oil and its derivatives, and other natural resources.

Taking into account the prevailing situation in the country, the U.N. therefore called for the tightening of the arms embargo that the Libyan government on its part says must be loosened so it can defend itself. The emergence of Islamic State group affiliated fighters in Libya that has led to the division of the country into two rival governments and multiple militias is alarming. Western countries such as the United States of America and others that back the democratically elected government have expressed worries that weapons provided to the government would quickly fall into the hands of the jihadists and militias.

Last February when fighters linked to the Islamic State group beheaded 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians, the Libyan government asked the United Nations Security Council to lift the arms embargo on the country. Reports say Libya already can apply for weapons imports under an exemption in the arms embargo for the Libyan government, but the U.N. committee that considers such requests has been cautious about giving approval. U.N. diplomats, Associated Press disclosed, pointed to an incident in 2013 when weapons that were approved for the government ended up in militia hands instead.