UN Chief in Libya bemoans continued violation of Libya truce
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General in Libya, Ghassan Salamé, deplored that "the situation on the ground in Libya is fragile and that the ceasefire is often violated" when the second round of talks by the Libyan mixed military committee 5 + 5 resumed this Tuesday in Geneva, to find an agreement on the permanent ceasefire.
During a press conference in Geneva on Tuesday, Salamé said that the truce in the capital, Tripoli, has witnessed 150 violations since January 12.
He explained that there are two types of challenges facing the UN mission, the first being "the armistice violations that the two sides said they accepted in January. We have counted more than 150 violations since January 12, and we therefore call on the Libyan parties to respect the truce and the international parties to press for its implementation."
He added: "As for the second point, it concerns the ground itself, because the question is who monitors the truce and who observes the ceasefire. What will be the fate of irregular fighters ... and heavy weapons .. . transversal questions which constitute the organization of the transition from a state of war to a state of peace and the return of the state of war to a civil situation".
"A lasting ceasefire in Libya is more difficult than a truce," said Mr. Salamé, saying "the need for more time to negotiate because the permanent ceasefire is based on technical details".
Salamé also stressed that Security Council resolutions do not come into force immediately after their publication, indicating that the Libyan crisis will take a long time to resolve and will not be achieved overnight.
He added that "logic says that when the Security Council makes a decision the goal is its implementation, but many decisions have not been implemented, but I hopes that many Libyans want to end this crisis, especially since after the Berlin meeting, many countries support the ceasefire."
The UN official stressed that there is an international consensus to end the crisis, "but the Libyan parties do not want to sit together, and we do not want photo-focused meetings, but we want a real deal."
He warned that the ongoing negotiations on the three strands (military, political and economic) are limited to the Libyan parties, with no presence of any other country, "but that does not mean that the countries concerned are not following closely the negotiations."
It is noted that the first round of negotiations of the Libyan 5 + 5 Joint Military Committee in Geneva, allowed the belligerents to reaffirm their desire to transform the truce into a ceasefire, despite the failure to agree on the arrangements for the return of displaced persons, the demilitarization of the confrontation areas near Tripoli.
The delegation of the government of national accord accused "the Haftar camp of having refused to sign an agreement after concessions under the aegis of the UN Mission on a comprehensive cease-fire in Libya to settle definitely the crisis and avoid the bloodshed of Libyans."
Regarding the political dialogue meetings scheduled for Geneva on February 26, he said: "We have not officially invited the parties and we will invite them in the coming hours".
-0- PANA BY/IS/KND/VAO 18Feb2020
