Panafrican News Agency

AU, UN delegation meets Haftar in effort to end Libya crisis

Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - Marshal Khalifa Haftar, Commander-in-chief of the Libya National Army, on Wednesday met a delegation of the United Nations (UN) and the African Union (AU) in Benghazi as efforts continue to find a political solution to Libya's crisis continue.

The joint delegation included the United Nations Under Secretary-General for Political Affairs and Peacebuilding, Marie-Rose DiCarlo and the AU Commissioner for Peace and Security, Ismail Charghi. Also present was the UN envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salame.

The delegation reiterated to Marshal Haftar "its full support for a political settlement to end the transition phase in Libya", the United Nations support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL)  said in a tweet on Wednesday.

In a statement, the office of the UN under Secretary-General for Political Affairs and Peacebuilding said that the two-day visit of Mrs. DiCarlo to Libya was intended "to support the efforts of the United Nations to reach a political settlement to end the long transition period, so as to lead to the unification of the country's institutions, hold national elections to strengthen security and stability and improve living conditions of Libyans".

On Tuesday, the same delegation met in Tripoli with the President of the Libya Presidential Council, Fayez al-Sarraj, Head of the High Council of State, Khaled al-Machri, as well as other members of the Government of National Accord and a group women to inquire about their views on the current situation and the political process.

The statement said that the officials in Tripoli informed the delegation of the security arrangements in Tripoli established by the security committee of the capital and the centre for joint operations.

A meeting late last month in Dubai between al-Sarraj and Haftar, under the auspices of Salame, helped revive the political process with the agreement between the two main protagonists on the need to shorten the transition, hold general elections and unify the country's institutions.

In recent days, Salame has intensified his contacts with the various parties in Libya and abroad, with a view to holding the planned inclusive conference in one month, aimed at consolidating Libyans to bring them to a consensus on the electoral calendar.

The visit of the UN and AU delegation is part of the new approach of coordination between the AU and the UN on Libya, as part of the efforts of the international community to find a negotiated political solution to the crisis.

In addition, ambassadors of the European Union member states in Libya also met on Tuesday with al-Sarraj, and al-Machri, to discuss the evolution of political process and the need for the implementation of the UN action plan.

-0- PANA BY/JSG/BBA/MA 14March2019