ISIS Group In Action.............
FALLOUT AND PREPARATION Tunisia and Egypt face the most risk from Libya's crisis. Last year, Tunisian jihadists who trained in Libyan camps carried out two major attacks on foreign tourists in Tunisia.
More than 3,000 Tunisians have left to fight with Islamic State and other militant groups in Iraq and Syria, but Tunisian security sources say they believe many are returning to Libya.
Along the Libyan frontier, Tunisian authorities have built a 200-km (125 mile) barrier. Hospitals in Gafsa, Tataouine, Mednine and Gabes are prepared to receive wounded, and authorities have stockpiled supplies, officials say.
"These Tunisian fighters left here illegally and they know ways to cross back," a Tunisian security source said. "We are vigilant for when they try to escape here if the coalition attacks on Islamic State start."
Egypt has long urged the international community to help fight Islamist militancy in Libya. But Cairo has also been more circumspect about a full-blown Western military intervention.
Over the past 18 months, Egypt has ramped up border security and aerial surveillance and also carried out air strikes itself on Libyan militants. It has also relied on Bedouins whose familial links allow them to act lookouts on the border.
"This is a Libyan decision that no one should interfere with," Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry. "We hope that the Libyan government and the Libyan army ... will come out with something that will exclude the possibilities of intervention."
With its own bloody history from a war with armed Islamists in 1990s, Algeria has been a key partner in the Western campaign against Islamist militancy in the Sahel, but it is also keen to maintain its traditional policy of non-interference.
Algerian border security was already tight since Islamist fighters crossed over from Libya to help in a 2013 attack on Algeria's In Amenas gas field, where 40 oil workers were killed.
Last month, Algerian forces arrested seven Libyan militants near the border close to In Amenas, and the army frequently stops weapons smuggled from Libya. Citing security concerns, Algeria last month also suspended flights to Libya.
"A major war in Libya would have a negative impact, more refugees and security risks," said Smail Djouhri, an ex-colonel and lecturer in security at Algiers University. "Less Daesh in the region is also good news. A blow to them reduces their recruitment in North Africa."
More than 3,000 Tunisians have left to fight with Islamic State and other militant groups in Iraq and Syria, but Tunisian security sources say they believe many are returning to Libya.
Along the Libyan frontier, Tunisian authorities have built a 200-km (125 mile) barrier. Hospitals in Gafsa, Tataouine, Mednine and Gabes are prepared to receive wounded, and authorities have stockpiled supplies, officials say.
"These Tunisian fighters left here illegally and they know ways to cross back," a Tunisian security source said. "We are vigilant for when they try to escape here if the coalition attacks on Islamic State start."
Egypt has long urged the international community to help fight Islamist militancy in Libya. But Cairo has also been more circumspect about a full-blown Western military intervention.
Over the past 18 months, Egypt has ramped up border security and aerial surveillance and also carried out air strikes itself on Libyan militants. It has also relied on Bedouins whose familial links allow them to act lookouts on the border.
"This is a Libyan decision that no one should interfere with," Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry. "We hope that the Libyan government and the Libyan army ... will come out with something that will exclude the possibilities of intervention."
With its own bloody history from a war with armed Islamists in 1990s, Algeria has been a key partner in the Western campaign against Islamist militancy in the Sahel, but it is also keen to maintain its traditional policy of non-interference.
Algerian border security was already tight since Islamist fighters crossed over from Libya to help in a 2013 attack on Algeria's In Amenas gas field, where 40 oil workers were killed.
Last month, Algerian forces arrested seven Libyan militants near the border close to In Amenas, and the army frequently stops weapons smuggled from Libya. Citing security concerns, Algeria last month also suspended flights to Libya.
"A major war in Libya would have a negative impact, more refugees and security risks," said Smail Djouhri, an ex-colonel and lecturer in security at Algiers University. "Less Daesh in the region is also good news. A blow to them reduces their recruitment in North Africa."
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