Italian Embassy welcomes Libyan govt's decision to observe humanitarian truce
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The Italian Embassy in Libya has welcomed the commitment of the Government of National Accord to respect a truce on humanitarian grounds to counter the threat posed by the spread of the COVID-19 (coronavirus).
It also called on the head of the rival government, Libyan National Army (LNA) based in the east, Marshal Khalifa Haftar, to accept the international call to stop hostilities.
In a statement released on Saturday, the Italian embassy said: "We hope that the humanitarian truce will lead to an agreement between the parties on a final ceasefire, as part of the work of the Joint Military Commission (5 + 5)".
A draft permanent ceasefire agreement in Libya was handed over by the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) to members of the delegations from both camps at the 5 + 5 Joint Military Committee meeting in Geneva before the resignation on 2 March of the UN Envoy, Ghassan Salamé.
The embassy also condemned the "continuous and unacceptable strikes" that have affected residential areas of Tripoli and caused many civilian casualties in recent days.
On Friday, UNSMIL expressed "deep dismay" at the deaths of four girls aged 14 to 20, and five others injured, including an 11 year old girl, in Thursday's random bombing targeting a civilian district of Ain Zara, south of Tripoli.
The mission said the attack, which was reportedly carried out by the LNA, occurred hours after international calls for a humanitarian truce, and UNSMIL also renewed its call for the immediate cessation of hostilities.
Algeria, Canada, the EU, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States have called for an immediate cessation of hostilities on humanitarian grounds to allow local authorities to respond to COVID-19.
-0- PANA BY/IS/SOC/KND/MA 21March2020
