Benghazi (Libya) (AFP) - Libya's internationally recognised government called Saturday for outside help in combatting jihadists, warning that the Islamic State group's capture of a key coastal airport endangered nearby oil terminals.
The government based in eastern Libya, in a statement on its official Facebook page, called on the international community to "supply arms to its forces to fight IS plans to seize oil fields to fund its operations".
"The government is doing everything to retake the town of Sirte and its airport from terrorist hands," it added.
IS took control of the airport in Sirte -- the hometown of former dictator Moamer Kadhafi -- after forces belonging to a Tripoli-based rival government withdrew late Thursday.
Officials in Tripoli said IS had allied with supporters of the ousted Kadhafi regime to deploy across Sirte, a region with oilfields.
Libya's internationally recognised government called on the UN in February to lift an arms embargo in order to battle IS.
The jihadists have taken advantage of the chaos plaguing Libya since the 2011 ouster of Kadhafi to make strategic gains, while the country has been left with rival governments and parliaments.
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