In response to Libyan criticism of the EU’s military mission in Libya Operation, known as Irini, the spokesman for EU diplomatic chief Josep Borrell, Peter Stano said that the main task of the operation is to prevent illegal arms flow into the country.
He said the EU enforcing the UN arms embargo helps create conditions for a cease-fire and a political solution in Libya.
A reliable source from the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that Operation Irini aims at banning arms flow to Libya, halting violence, and creating a climate adequate for negotiations to reach a political solution for the crisis.
The source stressed that the ships won’t be present at the Libyan territorial waters, but in the international waters facing the Libyan shore.
Meanwhile, Stano said: "Any kind of indiscriminate strikes targeted at heavily populated areas are unacceptable and run against the basic principles of international humanitarian law."
Notably, the indiscriminate shelling against civilians in Tripoli killed five and wounded several others.
The denouncement statement - issued from Brussels - further expressed solidarity with Italy by which attacks took place near the Italian Embassy in Tripoli. According to Stano, “this incident underlines the necessity for all parties to agree on a sustainable cease-fire to restore stability in the country.”
As he hinted at diplomatic efforts from Europe and other parties to deal with the updates, he stressed that Berlin conference is the political framework of the diplomatic pursuit to resolve the Libyan crisis and ensure the UN backing of the upcoming talks.
