Special to WorldTribune.com

Libya could become “another Somalia” if the country’s two rival governments fail to reach a peace agreement, Italy’s foreign minister said in a joint statement with the U.S. and European allies.

Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said time was running out on hopes for peace and “we will find ourselves with another Somalia two steps from our coasts.”

Gentiloni told the Italian daily La Stampa that the fighting in Sirte between government forces and Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) has reached a critical stage. ISIL seized the former bastion of Col. Moammar Gadhafi in June.

The situation in Sirte, where ISIL has executed numerous people, including children, underscores the “urgent need for parties in Libya to reach agreement on forming a government of national accord that, in partnership with the international community, can provide security against violent extremist groups seeking to destabilize the country,” the statement said.

Gentiloni pointed out that Italy has been hit by the situation in Libya as hundreds of thousands of migrants have attempted to reach its shores from the North African country.

Libya has rival governments in Tobruk (the internationally recognized government) and Tripoli.

The governments want all sides in Libya “to join efforts to combat the threat posed by transnational terrorist groups exploiting Libya for their own agenda,” according to the statement released by the U.S. State Department on Aug. 16.

The Tobruk-based government has asked for an emergency meeting of the Arab League, urging Arab countries to “adopt measures to confront” ISIL.

A partial peace deal between the opposing factions was reached at UN-brokered peace talks in July, but leaders of the Islamist-backed General National Congress in Tripoli boycotted the pact, calling it “unsatisfactory.”

  ISIL, Italian foreign minister: Libya could become next Somalia, Paolo Gentiloni, Sirte, WorldTribune.com