World leaders commit to peace in Libya

Fayez al-Sarraj and Khalifa Haftar

Fayez al-Sarraj and Khalifa Haftar: Didn't commit to permanent truce

Fayez al-Sarraj and Khalifa Haftar: Didn’t commit to permanent truce

World leaders committed Sunday at a Berlin summit to ending all foreign meddling in Libya’s war and to uphold a weapons embargo, as part of a broader plan to end the spiralling conflict.

The presidents of Russia, Turkey and France were among global chiefs signing up to the plan to stop interfering in the war — be it through weapons, troops or financing.

But the talks failed to deliver “serious dialogue” between the warring parties — strongman Khalifa Haftar and the head of Tripoli’s UN-recognised government Fayez al-Sarraj — or to get both sides to sign up to a permanent truce.

Leaders of France, Germany, United Nations, Russia, Egypt at the Berlin summit

“We have a very disparate situation in Libya, where ensuring that a ceasefire is immediately respected is simply not easy to guarantee,” said summit host Chancellor Angela Merkel.

“But I hope that through today’s conference, we have a chance the truce will hold further.”

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo acknowledged that there are “still some questions on how well and effectively” the commitments can be monitored.

Related News

But he said he is “optimistic that there will be less violence and … an opportunity to begin the conversation that (UN special envoy) Ghassan Salame has been trying to get going between the Libyan parties”.

Libya has been torn by fighting between rival armed factions since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising killed dictator Moamer Kadhafi.

Most recently, Sarraj’s troops in Tripoli have been under attack since April from Haftar’s forces.

Clashes have killed more than 280 civilians and 2,000 fighters and displaced tens of thousands, until a fragile ceasefire backed by both Ankara and Moscow was put in place on January 12.

Although Sarraj’s government is recognised by the UN, powerful players have broken away to stand behind Haftar — turning a domestic conflict into what some have described as a proxy war in which international powers jostle to secure their own interests.

International alarm grew in recent weeks after Turkey ordered in troops to shore up Sarraj’s government.

Load more