Referring to the 2011 Libyan war in which France was part of an international coalition backing forces that deposed former leader Moammar Gadhafi, Sissi called it an “unfinished mission.”

“We abandoned the Libyan people as prisoners to extremist militias,” he said.

Sissi called on militias to hand in their arms but urged weapons to be supplied to Libya’s internationally recognized government, based in the eastern city of Tobruk after rivals seized power in Tripoli.

The Tobruk government has already asked for the lifting of an international arms embargo to help it take back control of the country.