African leaders met Thursday in Oyo town, the Republic of Congo, to consider the possibility of holding a conference to broker talks over Libya's crisis.
Republic of Congo President Denis Sassou Nguesso urged an "unequivocal message" to prepare a conference on national reconciliation for Libya.
Republic of Congo President Denis Sassou Nguesso, President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa, Chadian leader Idriss Deby Itno, Head of AU Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat, Algerian Prime Minister Abdelaziz Djerad, and Maria Luiza Viotti, Chef de Cabinet to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, convened to facilitate dialogue among Libyan parties.
This is the second meeting hosted by the Republic of Congo since the Berlin Summit on Libya in January.
Algeria's government has said it would be ready to host a comprehensive dialogue among Libyan parties and joined other African nations in urging an end to foreign interference in Libya. "It's time to unite the Libyan people so that they can be reconciled," Djerad said.
Chadian leader stated that the crisis in Libya is tragic and there are dangerous foreign interventions there. While, Ramaphosa said that the African Union should lead efforts to bring warring parties in Libya closer.
Following the meeting in Oyo, African Union (AU) Commissioner for Peace and Security Ismail Sharqi expressed optimism regarding boosting coordination between the AU and the UN in seeking a resolution for the Libya crisis in the future.
In a related context, Egypt's permanent representative at the United Nations Mohamed Idris voiced concern towards some states recruiting and transferring foreign terrorists from Syria to Libya. Idris saw this as a violation of international security and peace, including Security Council resolutions.
During a session on “Countering terrorism and extremism in Africa”, he demanded that the Security Council bear responsibility in maintaining international peace and security through committing to resolution 2396 on terrorists’ movement.
