Panafrican News Agency

AUC chairman insists ceasefire declaration in Libya must be respected

Tripoli, Libya (PANA) – The chairman of the African Union Commission (AUC), Moussa Faki Mahamat, has called on the warring parties in Libya to observe the ceasefire declared on Saturday in Libya, saying that the African Union (AU) will help Libyans actualize the action plan set by the continental organisation as well as facilitate political dialogue.

A declaration of ceasefire was announced simultaneously on Saturday by the chairman of the Libyan presidential council of the Government of National Accord, Fayez Sarraj, and Aguila Salah, Speaker of the House of Representatives, seating in the city of Tobruk.

In the declaration, the two pleaded for the resumption of oil production and export and the payment of revenues into a special Libyan foreign bank account, saying that the account will be used only after belligerents had found a political solution, in accordance with the recommendations of the Berlin Conference and with the guarantee of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) and the international community.

In a communiqué quoted by Libyan media on Sunday, Mr Faki Mahamat praised the efforts made by ‘’Libyan parties seeking dialogue and not weapons, as unique solution that can end the almost decade of war’’.

It said the declaration will facilitate the initiatives for dialogue as well as the resumption of work by the UN joint military commission to attain enduring ceasefire.

"This announcement is likely to relaunch the inter-Libyan political talks and the application of the action plan adopted by the High-Level African Union Committee on Libya on 30 January 2020 in Brazzaville, Congo, focusing on the modalities and agendas of the preparatory works related to the African Union national inter-Libyan reconciliation conference, said the AUC chairman who stressed the AU determination to help the Libyan people get out of the crisis.

He called on the international community to back the peace deal, expressing the hope ‘’to see a joint police force force keep the peace in Sirte", while waiting for the unification of the government’s institutions.

-0- PANA MA/IN/TBM/MSA/VAO 23Aug2020