U.N. Envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame speaks during an interview with Reuters ahead of the first day of the international conference on Libya, in Palermo, Italy, November 12, 2018. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane
CAIRO - 1 February 2020: The arms embargo violations persist in Libya amid the denouncement of the international community.
Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) Ghassan Salame decried on Thursday the presence of foreign militants in the country without indicating their nationalities stating that the arms embargo violations recorded 110.
A French military source told AFP on Thursday that Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier spotted on Wednesday a Turkish frigate escorting a cargo ship, called Bana and sailing under a Lebanese Flag, delivering armored vehicles to Tripoli, according to Asharq Al-Awsat.
The publication also reported the statements of “an informed source” revealing that Turkey started establishing a military base in Mitiga airport, the only functional airport western Libya since 2014, and that Turkish military and intelligence personnel are present in the intended base.
The source added that Turkish officers contribute in running the operations command center of militias protecting the Government of National Accord (GNA), which is a non-elected UN-recognized interim government.
Asharq Al-Awsat also mentioned reports on Turkey’s endeavors to hire more mercenaries and militants from Kenya and Somalia to back the GNA.
In the UN Security Council (UNSC) meeting, GNA’s ambassador to the United Nations Taher El Sonni accused France of providing the Libyan National Army (LNA) with Javelin missiles. He also alleged the UAE of breaching UNSC resolutions 11 times in Libya by giving LNA armoured vehicles, air defence system and drones, as reported by The Libya Observer.
The United Kingdom communicated with fellow UN Security Council members an amended draft on Libya calling for mercenaries withdrawal from Libya and asserting the importance of the role of the African Union (AU) and the Arab League, as reported by AFP.
The initial draft released on January 24 did not consist of any mention of mercenaries, and just highlighted the role of neighboring countries and regional organizations in conflict resolution.
France criticized Turkey’s intervention in Libya, and decided to send warships eastern the Mediterrenean amid rising tensions between the latter and Greece over gas reserves.
CAIRO - 31 January 2020: Greek frigate HS Nikiforos Fokas headed towards a Turkish research vessel in the Mediterranean, Greek media reported, after the vessel reportedly entered Greece's continental shelf area. Greek officials have expressed their readiness to counter the Turkish ship sailing east of Crete and western Cyprus.
“I want to express my concerns with regard to the behaviour of Turkey at the moment … We have seen during these last days Turkish warships accompanied by Syrian mercenaries arrive on Libyan soil. This is an explicit and serious infringement of what was agreed [at last week’s peace conference] in Berlin. It’s a broken promise,” French President Emmanuel Macron stated, according to The Guardian.
CAIRO - 27 January 2020: The Libyan National Army (LNA) declared on Sunday that it lies 100 kilometers away from Misrata's center and that fighting broke out in southern Tripoli in Al Hadaba and Abu Salim. The LNA affirmed taking over Al Qaddahiyah, Al Hisha, and Abou Grin villages eastern Misrata confiscating military vehicles and capturing some members of militias.
The recommendation of the Berlin conference held on January 19 is that no foreign country shall interfere in the Libyan issue.
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