UN mission brokers ceasefire to end deadly clashes in Tripoli
TRIPOLI: The UN mission in Libya said it brokered a ceasefire on Tuesday to end a week of clashes in the capital Tripoli that have killed dozens and forced thousands to flee their homes.
Fighting in and around Tripoli since Aug 27 has killed at least 50 people and wounded 138 others, most of them civilians, according to the Libyan health ministry.
The violence has also forced thousands of people to escape to nearby towns or seek shelter in other districts of the capital, while many more have remained trapped inside their homes.
“Under the auspices of (UN envoy Ghassan Salame), a ceasefire agreement was reached and signed today to end all hostilities, protect civilians, safeguard public and private property,” the UNSMIL mission said.
Following another day of violent clashes in the capital’s southern suburbs, the fighting came to a pause in the early evening but it was unclear if all the groups involved would respect the agreement.
A ceasefire deal announced on Friday by officials from western cities only held for a few hours.
After that, UNSMIL invited the “various Libyan parties” to Tuesday talks for an “urgent dialogue on the current security situation in Tripoli”.
The UN mission announced the ceasefire hours later on Twitter.
It said the agreement also provided for the reopening of Mitiga airport, the capital’s only functioning airport that has been closed since Aug 31 due to the clashes.
The agreement “today does not aim to fix all the Libyan capital’s security problems; it seeks to agree on a broader framework on the way to start addressing these issues,” it added.
The UN mission said among those who took part in the closeddoor talks were military officers and leaders of various armed groups present in and around the capital.
Representatives of the UNbacked Government of National Accord ( GNA) including the interior minister also attended the talks.
The Libyan capital has been at the centre of a battle for influence between armed groups since the fall of dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011. — AFP