Guest of France 24, Ghassan Salamé returns to the recent Berlin conference, which he describes as "a big step forward". "We were looking to create an international umbrella while ignoring the belligerents," said the head of the United Nations Mission for Libya.

On January 19, eleven countries gathered in the German capital in the framework of a conference organized under the aegis of the UN to try to find a solution to the crisis which has torn apart Libya for 10 years. They undertook to respect the arms embargo decided in 2011 by the United Nations and to renounce all foreign "interference" in the conflict.

Regarding the case of Turkey, which sent its troops to Libya, Ghassan Salamé kicks in touch. "Today there are a dozen nationalities of non-Libyan fighters who intervene in the battle: military experts, mercenaries, ideological fighters, regular troops," said the diplomat. But the military dismantling of foreign fighters will be on the agenda of the meeting to be held in Geneva in late January, he said.

"What I fear is that the truce will break for good"

In Berlin, participants also called for a permanent ceasefire on the ground, which is long overdue despite the entry into force on January 12 of a fragile truce between belligerents. According to Ghassan Salamé, if the truce is violated almost daily, the situation has nevertheless improved. "It is true that there have been attacks. There is artillery fire almost every day, especially near Tripoli international airport. But overall, it looks nothing like it to what was the case before January 12, "he said.

He admits that interlibyan dialogue is complicated to say the least. "If we leave the Libyans alone, they will not be able to get along. So maybe they have to chew a lot of the food so that they can swallow it," he said.

"You have to take into account the strong local identities," said the diplomat, who feared that the conflict would escalate into a civil war. "What I fear is that the truce will break for good and that the fighting will come inside the city. So far the fighting has taken place in semi-urban, semi-rural areas, but if they return to strictly urban areas, that means civilian victims in figures that are very different from what we have seen so far, "continues Ghassan Salame. "What I fear now is a regional war that takes Libya as a theater," he concluded.

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