US Ambassador, members of Military Commission urge preservation of peace in Libya

Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - US ambassador to Libya and Special Envoy Richard Norland Friday agreed with members of the 5+5 Joint Military Commission for the Western Region on the need to end tensions in the country.

Te call come against the backdrop of the current conditions in the country after the endorsement of a parallel government by the eastern-based Libyan Parliament.

Tasked with overseeing the ceasefire and security arrangements, the Libyan 5+5 Joint Military Commission is composed of equal numbers of senior officers from both sides of the conflict in Libya, the army loyal to the incumbent government of national unity in the west and the Libyan National Army led by Marshal Khalifa Haftar in the east.

The US embassy in Libya said in a tweet on Thursday evening that Ambassador Richard Norland met in Tunisia with members of the 5+5 Joint Military Commission in the western region.

The same source added that Norland stressed "the importance of maintaining calm on all sides and not adding to existing tensions in the ongoing Libyan political process.

The embassy quoted members of the Joint Military Commission as sharing this view, and also stressed the importance of "moving to national elections as soon as possible".

Since the postponement of the 24 December elections in Libya, the country has entered a political stalemate.

This situation has worsened in the context of the escalating political crisis in Libya, after the House of Representatives (Parliament) approved the new government led by Fathi Bachagha, while the prime minister of the government of national unity, Abdelhamid Dibba, refused to hand over power before the parliamentary elections scheduled for June.

-0- PANA BY/JSG/SOC/BBA/RA 4March2022