The Libyan National Army (LNA), led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, has reiterated its conditions for a political settlement with Fayez al-Sarraj’s Government of National Accord (GNA), including disbanding militias.
During a meeting, GNA’s Presidential Council asserted the necessity of resuming the political, security and economic process in line with the Berlin Conference outcomes.
The conferees assessed the world’s stance from the Libyan crisis, and discussed measures to enhance the performance of public services and the efforts exerted to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
However, Director of LNA’s Moral Guidance Department Brigadier General Khaled al-Mahjoub stated that militias must be disbanded and mercenaries must be expelled.
Mahjoub ruled out any political solution before the eradication of terrorism.
His comments came as US Ambassador to Libya Richard B. Norland headed on Thursday to the Turkish capital, Ankara, for talks on the Libyan crisis.
“I’m continuing my travels in Ankara for consultations with Turkey on how best to support de-escalation and the Libyan Political Dialogue in a constructive way, that returns full sovereignty to Libya,” the diplomat said on Twitter.
Further, senior officers of GNA’s Libyan Defense Ministry participated on Thursday in the first meeting convened by the US military commandment in Africa (AFRICOM) to discuss an initiative on mine clearing.
In a related context, GNA’s Interior Ministry revealed that three Libyan men have been arrested on suspicion of attacking and killing a Nigerian migrant worker.
Witnesses said that the suspects forced their way into the factory where the victim was working and set him on fire. The UN has described the man’s death as “another senseless crime” in Libya.
“Those responsible must be held to account,” tweeted Federico Soda, the head of the UN’s International Organization of Migration (IOM) mission in Libya.
