‘Long day’ as UN envoy to Libya arrives in Benghazi to speak to warring parties
The United Nations envoy to Libya visited the eastern city of Benghazi yesterday to meet militias and civilian groups as part of his tour of cities on both sides of the conflict.
Ghassan Salame, the new head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya “landed at Banina airport for a long day of interactions in Benghazi with Libyan actors from various spectrums”, the mission’s official Twitter account said.
He met university student union representatives linked to Libya’s elected parliament, the Tobruk-based House of Representatives.
Last month, Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar – who commands the Libyan National Army, which is aligned with the House of Representatives, declared victory in the campaign for Benghazi.
Beyond familiarising himself with groups in the divided country, Lebanese mediator Mr Salame faces the challenge of pushing political and militia factions to accepting the joint declaration that was signed in Paris on July 25 by the head of the UN-backed Government of National Accord based in Tripoli, Fayez Al Sarraj, and Field Marshal Haftar.
The joint declaration is intended to put in place a ceasefire between the LNA and militias loyal to the GNA, who have been fighting for control of the country for three years.
So far, fighting has continued on several fronts.
The mission’s ultimate goal is for a ceasefire that will stick and for the details of a road map to a unity government to be negotiated before national elections next year.
Earlier deals have collapsed as the many armed groups in Libya have simply refused to comply with the terms.
Mr Al Sarraj and Field Marshal Haftar, backed by Mr Salame’s diplomacy, have to push the militias towards a process that is likely to involve a reduc-
tion of their power. The militias in Tripoli that back the GNA have refused to disarm.
Complicating this task is the increasingly strong position of Field Marshal Haftar and the House of Representatives, which now control more than two thirds of the country.
International politics also complicate the efforts to secure a lasting peace.
Italy has major security and energy interests in Libya, and officials in Rome were angered that they had not been invited to the Paris talks.
Italy also sent a naval vessel to Tripoli to assist in combating human trafficking across the Mediterranean, but the move was met with protests in the capital and elsewhere at what was perceived to be an infringement of Libyan sovereignty.
Field Marshal Haftar said his forces were instructed to confront any foreign naval vessels that enter Libyan waters.
Mr Salame faces the challenge of pushing Libyan factions to accept the joint declaration that was signed in Paris