Libya: UNSMIL calls for restraint after armed clashes in Tripoli
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The United Nations Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) has expressed concern over Friday night's armed clashes between armed groups in Tripoli, putting lives of civilians at risk.
In a statement issued on Saturday, UNSMIL urged Libyan political and security actors to exercise restraint, saying it also received further reports of a mobilisation of armed groups with heavy weapons from areas around Tripoli.
UNSMIL said it was "deeply concerned by these developments, during an extremely sensitive period of political polarization that the United Nations, international partners and concerned Libyans are working to resolve Libya's political process through talks aimed at establishing a constitutional framework for holding national elections as soon as possible."
A third round of consultations between the parliament and the High State Council is scheduled for 12 June in Cairo, Egypt, under the auspices of the United Nations, to finalise agreements reached at previous meetings on the consensual definition of a constitutional basis for the holding of general elections in Libya as soon as possible.
In its statement, UNSMIL called on "Libyan political and security actors to exercise maximum restraint, show responsible leadership and resolve all disputes, both local and national, through dialogue".
It urged "all Libyans to do their utmost to preserve the fragile stability of the country at this sensitive time."
UNSMIL welcomed the efforts of all Libyan leaders and stakeholders to defuse the current tensions and resolve the current political impasse.
Armed clashes between two armed groups affiliated with the Libyan authorities in the area of Suk al-Talath, a short distance from the city centre of the Libyan capital, Tripoli, on Friday evening, endangered the lives of civilians who were caught in the crossfire.
Since the postponement of elections on 24 December, Libya is in the grip of a new impasse in its political process, leading to a new political crisis with two competing governments, that of the Prime Minister in office, Abdelhamid al-Dbaiba, resulting from the consensus among Libyans under the aegis of the United Nations, and that of the Prime Minister appointed by Parliament, Fathi Bachagha.
This situation has heightened tension in the country, where both camps have support among armed groups in the western region of the country and in Tripoli.
-0- PANA BY/JSG/BBA/VAO 11June2022
