Military solutions cannot bring peace to Libya, UN says
While the U.N. chief underlined the necessity of a political solution in Libya, the body’s former Libya envoy accused Security Council members of hypocrisy over support for Haftar
UNITED Nations SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres told putschist Gen. Khalifa Haftar Wednesday that there can be no military solution to the conflict he launched in April 2019 against the U.N.-supported government in the capital, Tripoli. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Haftar called the secretary-general and they discussed current developments in the oil-rich country, which saw his militias retreat from Tripoli last month. Guterres also spoke to Libyan Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj, who indicated his commitment to a dialogue within the Libyan Joint Military Commission “and expressed his interest in a political solution based on elections,” Dujarric said. The secretary-general told Haftar that “the solution can only be political, and Libyan-owned and Libyan-led,” and he reaffirmed the U.N. commitment to talks between the two sides in the Libyan Joint Military Commission, Dujarric said.
THE SECRETARY-general told Haftar that “the solution can only be political, and Libyan-owned and Libyan-led,” and he reaffirmed the U.N. commitment to talks between the two sides in the Libyan Joint Military Commission, Dujarric said.
The U.N. chief also reiterated his shock at the recent discovery of mass graves in territory recently recaptured from forces commanded by Haftar “and stressed the need for full respect of international human rights law and international humanitarian law,” the spokesman said.
The U.N. said June 12 that at least eight mass graves had been discovered, mostly in Tarhuna, a key western town that served as the main stronghold for Haftar’s forces in their 14-month campaign to capture Tripoli. The discoveries raised fears about the extent of human rights violations in territories controlled by his militias, given the difficulties of documentation in an active war zone.
Haftar’s failed campaign to capture the capital has led to a humanitarian crisis, with 1 million people in need of aid and almost a half million people internally displaced.
Sarraj indicated his commitment to a dialogue within the 5+5 Libyan Joint Military Commission and expressed his interest in a political solution based on elections.
Libya has been in turmoil since 2011, when a civil war toppled long-time dictator Moammar Gadhafi, who was later killed. The country has since split between rival administrations in the east and the west, each backed by armed groups and foreign governments.
Ankara supports Libya’s U.N.-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) in the conflict against Haftar’s illegitimate forces. Under a military pact with Libya signed last November, Turkey also sent military advisers to assist in the battle against Haftar’s forces.
The Libyan government forces with Turkish support gained the upper hand in the war in early June after retaking the capital’s airport, all main entrance and exit points to the city and a string of key towns near Tripoli.
On Friday, Libya’s National Oil Corporation said Russian and other foreign mercenaries had entered the country’s largest oil field, describing the development as an attempt to thwart the resumption of halted oil production.
Dujarric said that in his conversation with Haftar, Guterres “indicated his commitment to helping find a solution for the reopening of blocked oil terminals and oil fields in the country.”
He said the secretary-general and Sarraj “also discussed the need to reopen blocked oil terminals and oil fields in the country.”
Earlier this week, Libya’s National Oil Corporation confirmed there had been international talks to end the blockade on oil exports involving the GNA, the U.N., the U.S. and regional countries, expressing optimism that the blockades will be lifted soon.
UNSC MEMBERS ACCUSED OF HYPOCRISY
As Haftar is mainly supported by Egypt, the UAE and Russia, the U.N.’s former Libya envoy Ghassan Salame attacked the world body’s Security Council on Wednesday, saying he had been “stabbed in the back” and accusing member states of “hypocrisy.”
He said that the day putschist Haftar attacked the U.N.-recognized legitimate government’s capital Tripoli, he had most of them supporting him.
Salame announced his resignation in March, citing health reasons, nearly three years after taking up the post.
Salame resigned almost a year after eastern-based Haftar launched an offensive in April to seize the capital Tripoli, the seat of the GNA.
Speaking to the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD), a Swiss-based private diplomacy organization, Salame said Wednesday he had felt “irrelevant” and “stabbed in the back by most of the Security Council members because, the day he attacked Tripoli, Haftar had most of them supporting him.”
The former Lebanese culture minister and professor of international relations was appointed U.N. envoy in June 2017 and had struggled to bring Haftar and Libya’s U.N.recognized unity government together for peace talks.
Haftar’s surprise attack on Tripoli on April 4 last year came just days ahead of long-awaited U.N. talks, prepared with the help of the HD.
Russia has supported Haftar, while its fellow permanent member of the U.N. Security Council France is also suspected of doing so, although it insists it is neutral in Libya’s conflict.
Salame said the strongman’s offensive had halted peace efforts the U.N. had been preparing for a year. He said “important countries” – which he did not name – had been “plotting” to prevent the conference from taking place. “They didn’t want it to happen,” he said. “You could see clearly that (Haftar) was confident that a number of big powers were supporting this attack and he mentioned some of them by name. He even quoted from conversations he had with their leaders,” he added.
“That’s where you felt, as the U.N., that the hypocrisy of countries at this stage has reached limits that make your work very problematic.”
The diplomat said the “deregulated” international system was now such that “leaders of important countries do not feel any scruples” about making false statements.
The situation in Libya had shown a collapse in multilateralism and international cooperation, with the U.N. becoming “a theatre of the absurd,” he said.
Asked what his message was to the countries responsible, he said: “I’m very angry!”