U.N. Secretary General says Libya situation a ‘scandal’
4551 Min Read
U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday called the situation in Libya a “scandal” even as his envoy cited a “genuine will” by rival military factions as they planned their first meeting to secure a lasting ceasefire.
“I am deeply frustrated with what’s happening in Libya,” Guterres said in a press conference in which he was critical of countries that last month met in Berlin to push for progress in Libya peace talks.
“They committed not to interfere in the Libyan process and they committed not to send weapons or participate in any way in the fighting,” Guterres said at the United Nations headquarters in New York. “The truth is that the Security Council (arms) embargo remains violated.”
He called the mediation efforts of U.N. envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame “the only good news” there.
Salame told reporters earlier Tuesday that there was a “genuine will to start negotiating” between opposite sides, though he added that an arms embargo was being violated by both sides and that new mercenaries and arms were still arriving “by air and by sea” in Libya. Forces loyal to eastern based commander Khalifa Haftar have been trying to take the capital, Tripoli, for the past 10 months.
