Ahead of the Addis Ababa summit, UN and African warnings against sending arms to Libya

The Secretary-General of the United Nations and officials of the African Union warned of the consequences of sending arms and gunmen to Libya, prior to the launch of the African summit led by the Libyan crisis and the security situation in the Sahel and Sahara region.

It is scheduled to launch tomorrow, Sunday, in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, the 33rd African Summit, which will discuss the continent's issues and the conflicts that prevail in some of its countries.

In preparation for the summit, the Peace and Security Council of the African Union held a session today, Saturday, to discuss the file of the conflicts in the continent, foremost of which is the Libyan crisis and the security situation in the countries of the Sahel of the Sahara, which are witnessing frequent attacks by armed groups.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attended the session, and will submit its recommendations to the summit of the leaders of the European Union.

In statements to him in Addis Ababa, the day before the start of the summit, the Secretary-General of the United Nations called for the need to respect the arms embargo imposed on Libya and find a final solution to send gunmen to the country, considering that the flow of arms has deepened the crisis.

Guterres stressed that chaos is widening in Libya, stressing that the political process is the only way to achieve peace.

He said that the United Nations and the African Union must work together continuously to resolve the crisis threatening peace and security in Africa, and he stressed that the United Nations believes in a strong African role in resolving the Libyan conflict.

African solution
For its part, the Commissioner for Political Affairs of the African Union called on Samati Minata, the external parties involved in the Libyan conflict, to allow the African Union to play its role in resolving the crisis, and to stop dumping the country with weapons.

Minata expressed her hope that the South African presidency of the Union this year will make tangible progress in resolving the African crises.

In the context, the President of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki, said that what is happening in Libya and the Sahel is a serious threat to the security and stability of the region, and called in his speech to the United Nations and the Security Council to play a special role to solve the Libyan crisis.

As Mohamed El Hassan Ould Labat, political advisor to the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, said that there are international parties that reject any African role in solving the Libyan crisis.

In an interview with Al-Jazeera, he pointed out that the mission entrusted to the African Union in organizing the All-Libyan Conference will be an opportunity for an African role in settling the Libyan crisis.

The head of the Al-Jazeera office in Addis Ababa, Mohamed Taha Mutawakkil, said that the Libyan crisis is at the forefront of the side meetings, as is the summit.

He added that a special committee for Libya headed by the Congolese president would submit a report to the African leaders meeting in the Ethiopian capital.