LNA Agrees to Deploy International Monitors to Support Ceasefire Agreement

SMA NEWS – LIBYA

The Libyan National Army (LNA), led by Marshal Khalifa Haftar, has demanded that the monitoring of a previously-reached ceasefire be limited to “observers” to be agreed upon.

It also ruled out the possibility of the participation of “international forces” in monitoring this truce.

Director of LNA’s Moral Guidance Department Brigadier General Khaled al-Mahjoub said on Friday that the face-to-face direct talks between the two Libyan delegations to the 5+5 Joint Military Commission stipulate the presence of observers from countries agreed upon by the two parties with specific qualifications.

Mahjoub denied LNA’s objection to the deployment of “international observers” to monitor the ceasefire.

He pointed out that Turkey will only confront LNA forces in case of war because the situation in Libya is linked to European and regional security, stressing that the army will not remain silent in the face of Ankara’s occupation of western Libya.

Last week, UN Chief Antonio Guterres proposed international monitors to support Libya’s fragile ceasefire.

In a letter to Security Council members, Guterres asked to set up a monitoring group that would include civilians and retired soldiers from regional groups such as the African Union, European Union, and Arab League.

Haftar has reached the ceasefire agreement with the Government of National Accord led by Fayez al-Sarraj on October 23 in Geneva.

Meanwhile, 36 members representing nearly half of the members of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum have urged the United Nations and its Security Council to “prevent all forms of foreign military presence and expel mercenaries and foreign bases that violate the political agreement, the Constitutional Declaration, and its amendments.”

In a statement on Saturday, they demanded the participation of all parties in the upcoming elections, noting that the interventions in Libya have contributed to the flow of weapons and mercenaries.

They further called for achieving comprehensive national reconciliation by forming a committee for “reconciliation and openness”.