Hope for Libya: rival factions hold military talks and receive UN praise

Fighters loyal to UN Recognised GNA Fighters loyal to UN Recognised GNA Mahmud Turkia/AFP

01 October 2020

Rival Libyan factions have concluded security and military talks in the city of Hurghada, Egypt, facilitated by the United Nations

On 28 September 2020, the United Nations (UN) facilitated a peace and security meeting with police and military officials from the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) and the rival Libyan National Army (LNA) in Hurghada, a red sea resort in Egypt, with the view of kickstarting the process to resolve the conflict. 

In 2011, following the overthrow of late dictator Muammar Ghadaffi, Libya descended into chaos, leading to two rival administrations, with the GNA entrenched in the capital, Tripoli, while the LNA controlled large areas of the east. 

The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) in a brief statement said the discussions were marked by “a spirit of responsibility, transparency and mutual trust” and that “they addressed a number of pressing security and military issues, including confidence-building measures; security arrangements in an area to be defined at a later stage within the framework of the 5+5 Joint Military Committee (JMC) talks; in addition to tasks and responsibilities of the Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG).” 

The UN stated that the talks in Hurghada ended with a series of recommendations that will be presented to its members. 

Also, following the talks in Egypt, the warring sides have agreed to resume military talks next week, with the view to resolving the conflict. 

UNSMIL expressed its gratitude to the government of Egypt for its role in facilitating this round of important talks. The statement ended by expressing the UN Mission's hope to resolve the conflict by stating, "The Mission equally appreciates the efforts of both delegations and welcomes the outcomes reached during the discussion. UNSMIL hopes that this positive development will contribute to paving the way towards a final and lasting ceasefire agreement.”

 

To know more, please read:

https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/09/1074352 

https://www.arabnews.com/node/1741326/middle-east 

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/9/30/pentagon-chief-begins-north-africa-tour-as-libya-agree-to-talks 

 

Author: Abbiba Ivy Princewill

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