By RFIPosted on 19-01-2020Modified on 19-01-2020 at 21:40

The leaders of the main countries affected by the conflict in Libya pledged on Sunday January 19 in Berlin to respect the arms embargo decided in 2011 by the United Nations and to renounce any foreign "interference" in the conflict.

Eleven countries including Russia and Turkey agreed at a UN-sponsored conference in Berlin that there is no "military solution" to this conflict, which has torn apart Libya for nearly 10 years. "said German Chancellor Angela Merkel after half a day of talks.

Participants also called for a real permanent ceasefire on the ground, which is long overdue despite the entry into force on January 12 of a fragile truce between belligerents.

To ensure effective and lasting respect for the end of hostilities, inter-Libyan meetings between military representatives of the two camps should be organized soon. An invitation will be issued " in the coming days, " said Antonio Guterres, UN secretary general.

To consolidate the ceasefire, the UN envoy had called on the two rival camps to form a "Military Commission" made up of ten officers, five on each side. This commission will be responsible for defining on the ground the mechanisms for implementing the cease-fire.

Respect for the arms embargo

The participants also agreed to "strictly respect" the arms embargo and that " this embargo would be more strictly controlled than before ", explained the Chancellor during a joint press conference with Antonio Guterres and the UN envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salamé. The embargo was decreed in 2011 by the United Nations but largely remained a dead letter.

“ We have seen an escalation in the conflict. It has reached a dangerous dimension in recent days , "said Antonio Guterres, pointing to the" risk of a real regional escalation ".

Another sensitive point of the conflict: the more or less direct interventions of foreign countries in this conflict. " All participants also undertook to renounce interference in the armed conflict or the internal affairs of Libya, " said Guterres.

Turkey indeed militarily supports the government of Fayez el-Sarraj in Tripoli and Russia, despite its denials, is suspected of supporting the strong man of eastern Libya, Marshal Khalifa Haftar.

Since the resumption of fighting between rival camps in Libya in April 2019, more than 280 civilians and 2,000 combatants have been killed and, according to the UN, more than 170,000 inhabitants have been displaced.

(With AFP)

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