EU calls for ceasing of military activity in Libya’s capital
EU representatives demanded restraint to avoid further escalation in Libya’s capital, Tripoli, amid ongoing militia presence according to Asharq Al-Awsat via Anadolu on September 10th.
Despite the absence of armed clashes in Tripoli, there is widespread fear that military mobilizations could lead to confrontations, obstructing the progress Libya has made towards carrying out democratic processes and hampering Tripoli’s fragile stability.
There has already been incidents outside of Tripoli which have provoked concern, including an explosion in Misrata and a suicide bomb attack targeting a brigade operated by Tripoli’s Government of National Unity (GNU).
Armed vehicles have reportedly transferred from Misrata into Tripoli, housing forces loyal to Prime Minister Abdul Hamid al-Dbeibeh. Opponents of the GNU, predominantly the Special Deterrence Force, are deploying their forces in the residential district of Souq al-Juma and Tajoura.
Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) Hanna Tetteh held a meeting with ambassadors of EU member states, discussing efforts to implement the UN political roadmap for Libya, which she announced at the UN Security Council in August.
EU Ambassador to Libya Nicola Orlando said that Tetteh informed the ambassadors of her intensive efforts with all Libyan parties and institutions across the country within both rival administrations to reach the long-term goal of unifying institutions and conducting national elections.
Orlando further remarked that EU ambassadors joined Tetteh’s call for Tripoli to reject the use of force and end military mobilisation immediately.
Libya’s GNU has formed productive ties with certain EU countries as they attempt to forge a stable future, recently conducting bilateral talks with Italy regarding military cooperation and defence.
However, the eastern Libyan administration aligned with commander Khalifa Haftar has also forged close ties with EU countries in the Mediterranean. Director-General of Libya’s Reconstruction and Development Fund Belgassem Khalifa Haftar met Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Athens to discuss economic cooperation and bilateral ties.
Asharq al-Awsat via Anadolu, Maghrebi.org
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