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Canada not certain on joining anti-ISIS mission in Libya: Vance

In this Feb. 19, 2016 file photo, people gather after U.S. airstrikes on a house and training camp belonging to the Islamic State group, west of Sabratha, Libya. Canada's top general says it is not yet decided if Canada will join other western troops in the country.
In this Feb. 19, 2016 file photo, people gather after U.S. airstrikes on a house and training camp belonging to the Islamic State group, west of Sabratha, Libya. Canada's top general says it is not yet decided if Canada will join other western troops in the country. AP Photo/Mohamed Ben Khalifa, File

OTTAWA – Canada’s top general says military intervention in Libya is not inevitable.

Gen. Jonathan Vance, the chief of the defence staff, says he’s not advocating one way or another for Canada to join a possible western military coalition in Libya.

He says it is not inevitable that a new military mission will be needed to get rid of Islamic militants in Libya, but he’s keeping a close watch so he can advise the government.

WATCH: Libyan army clash with Islamic militants in Benghazi 
Click to play video: 'Libyan army clash with Islamic militants in Benghazi'
Libyan army clash with Islamic militants in Benghazi

Vance says much will depend on the performance of Libya’s new, United Nations-brokered government and what assistance it may ask for.

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Vance says the foothold gained by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Libya’s port city of Sirte remains a serious impediment to stabilizing the country.

But he says simply throwing military assets at the situation is not a solution on its own.

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