Libyan PM says opening of the coastal road, a step in the unification of the country
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - Libyan Prime Minister, Abdelhamid al-Dbaiba, on Friday described the opening of the coastal road linking the west to the east of the country as a step towards the country's unification.
This follows the announcement by the 5+5 Joint Military Commission that the road will be opened from Friday after its rehabilitation.
Mr al-Dbaiba saw the announcement as a "new step in the construction and unification of the country", a publication of the government of national accord said.
The Prime Minister thanked the Joint 5+5 Commission and the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) for their efforts to carry out the project, underlining the work of the government of national accord to deal with the issues that concern the citizen in all fields.
For his part, the head of the eastern-based Libyan National Army, Marshal Khalifa Haftar, welcomed the reopening of the coastal road, calling it a "significant achievement".
In an audio-visual address, Haftar said that "a fair and comprehensive peace will not be achieved unless all foreign forces and mercenaries leave Libya as soon as possible."
He called on the international community, which embraces and supports the peace process in Libya, to assume "its responsibility and redouble its efforts to the maximum to achieve this popular demand", adding that this community must "be aware that we believe what we say repeatedly that there will be no peace with the occupier, no peace with the mercenaries, and no peace unless the arms are in the hands of the state".
The Joint Military Commission 5+5 announced, in a statement, the reopening of the coastal road linking the east to the west under the control of the Committee on Security Arrangements it supervises.
Sources say that the committee had previously decided to ban the movement of military convoys on the coastal road, which currently extends from the Abu Grein security post to the Km 30 post, west of Sirte, and called on official bodies and authorities to coordinate in advance with the committee regarding the movement of personalities and official delegations using the road.
-0- PANA BY/JSG/BBA/VAO 30July2021
