Rivals swap prisoners as part of ceasefire

CAIRO — Libya’s rival leaders kicked off a U. N. brokered prisoner exchange, United Nations and Libyan officials said Saturday, which was part of a preliminary ceasefire agreement between the warring Libyan groups.

The exchange of a first batch of prisoners, supervised by a joint military committee, took place Friday in the southwestern village of alShwayrif, according to the U. N. Support Mission in Libya, or UNSMIL.

Libya is split between a U. N. supported government in the capital, Tripoli, and rival authorities based in country’s east. The two sides are backed by an array of local militias as well as regional and foreign powers.

The oilrich country was plunged into chaos after the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Khadafy.

In April 2019, eastbased commander Khalifa Hifter and his forces began an offensive to try and capture Tripoli, a campaign that collapsed after Turkey stepped up its military support of the U. N. supported government.

The two sides signed a nationwide, U. N. brokered ceasefire deal in October that included an exchange of all war prisoners.

UNSMIL announced the prisoner exchange without giving details on how many prisoners were freed for each side. It called for both sides to speed up the implementation of the ceasefire deal, including the exchange of all prisoners.

The ceasefire deal also included the departure of foreign forces and mercenaries from Libya within three months. However, no progress was announced on the issue of foreign forces and mercenaries two months after they inked the deal.

Thousands of foreign fighters, including Russians, Syrians, Sudanese and Chadians, have been brought to Libya by both sides, according to U. N. experts.

Meanwhile, Turkey’s Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, the military chief of staff Yasar Guler and other military commanders arrived in Tripoli Saturday, where they were meeting with their allies in the U. N. supported government, according to the Turkish staterun Anadolu news agency.

The unannounced visit has underscored the close ties between the Tripoli government and Ankara.