Tripoli (AFP)
Deliveries of arms to rival factions by foreign states continue in Libya despite commitments made at the recent international conference in Berlin, the UN denounced on Sunday, worried about the fate of the current truce.
The United Nations Mission in Libya (Manul) "deeply regrets the flagrant and persistent violations of the arms embargo", the subject of resolution 1970 of 2011 to the Security Council, "despite the commitments of the countries concerned" taken in Berlin January 19, it is written in a press release.
The same source said that "cargo and other flights" have landed in airports in western and eastern Libya over the past ten days to deliver to the belligerents "advanced weapons, armored vehicles, advisers and fighters. "
In the grip of chaos since the fall of the regime of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya is currently torn between two rival powers: that of the government of union (GNA), based in Tripoli (west) and recognized by the UN, and that of Marshal Haftar, the strong man of eastern Libya.
As this conflict threatens to escalate with increasing foreign involvement, participants in the Berlin conference made several commitments, including that of stopping arms deliveries.
- "Welcome respite" -
Since April 4, 2019, the war is at the gates of Tripoli: on this date, Marshal Haftar, supported by Russia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, launched an offensive on the capital, seat of the GNA, its side supported by Turkey.
More than 2,000 combatants and more than 280 civilians have been killed, according to the UN. Nearly 150,000 Libyans have been displaced.
A ceasefire was instituted on January 12 on the initiative of Moscow and Ankara, but it remains precarious: it was formally signed by the GNA but not by Marshal Haftar, and the two parties regularly accuse of violate the truce.
In its press release, the Manul underlines that the fall of the fighting offers "a welcome respite for the inhabitants of the capital".
But "this fragile truce is today threatened by the routing of foreign fighters, weapons, ammunition and advanced systems to the parties by the member states, several of which participated in the Berlin conference," insisted the mission. of the UN, without identifying these countries.
On Saturday, new clashes around Tripoli left at least one dead - a Moroccan - and wounded seven civilians, Amine al-Hachemi, spokesman for the GNA health ministry, told AFP on Sunday.
And the "ongoing violations" of the arms embargo risk plunging the country into "a new spiral of intense fighting", warns the Manul.
- Stationary oil -
According to an agreement signed in late November between Ankara and the GNA, Turkey is providing military support to Tripoli while Moscow, despite its denials, is suspected of supporting the pro-Haftar with weapons, money and mercenaries.
In this context, the international community fears that the conflict in Libya will degenerate into "new Syria".
This escalation risk is compounded by fears that the economy will collapse due to the cessation of oil exports - almost the country's only source of income.
On January 18, on the eve of the Berlin International Summit, pro-Haftar forces blocked major oil terminals and fields in the east and south, resulting in a dramatic drop in production and losses estimated at more than 256 million dollars, according to a bulletin from the National Oil Company (NOC).
The embassies of the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union delegation in Libya have in recent days called for an "immediate" resumption of oil operations ", warning of the risk of worsening the humanitarian situation.
Production had already plunged to less than 500,000 barrels / day between 2014 and 2016 due to the violence around the oil sites and a power struggle between rival groups.
© 2020 AFP