António Guterres flew to Libya’s second city of Benghazi earlier in the day, in the hopes of helping avert military clashes between forces loyal to the internationally-recognized Government, and those loyal to Commander Khalifa Haftar, who leads the Libyan National Army (LNA), and controls much of the east of the fractured, oil-rich country, through a parallel administration.
According to news reports, the Commander’s forces, have been pushing south and westwards in recent days, and had advanced to around 80 kilometres south of the capital by Thursday, reportedly skirmishing with forces allied to the Government. LNA-allied forces were also reportedly active to the west of the capital, attempting to close the road to Tunisia.
The UN chief met General Haftar in Benghazi in the middle of Friday, tweeting beforehand his forceful declaration that “there is no military solution for the Libyan crisis, only a political one.”
Following their meeting, the Secretary-General made brief remarks to waiting journalists, saying he was leaving Libya “with a deep concern and a heavy heart. I still hope it will be possible to avoid a bloody confrontation in and around Tripoli.”
He said that the UN would “remain available to facilitate any political solution able to unify the Libyan institutions. Whatever happens, the UN will remain committed, and I will remain committed, to support the Libyan people”, he added, emphasizing that “Libyans deserve peace, security, prosperity and the respect of their human rights.”
On Friday afternoon, the UN Security Council is due to be briefed behind closed doors in New York, on the latest situation, by the head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), Ghassan Salamé, who is also Special Representative of the Secretary-General to the country.
‘Libyan-led and Libyan-owned political solution’
On Thursday, the UN chief held meetings in the Libya capital, Tripoli, with senior Government politicians, to discuss the UN-backed Libyan National Conference due to take place later this year, following wide consultations across the country.
At a press conference, Mr. Guterres said a “Libyan-led and Libyan owned political solution” to resolve years of instability and insecurity there, was essential. It is hoped that the Conference on the fractured nation’s political future, could finally end years of turmoil following the removal from power, and death of former ruler Muammar Gaddafi, in 2011.
Libyans “have suffered too much and deserve to live in a normal country with normal political institutions, with peace, security and prosperity,” said Mr. Guterres, adding that “the UN has no agenda and no interests in relation to Libya but one: the welfare of the Libyan people, the peace in the country, and the possibility to live in a normal democracy and to take profit of the enormous wealth of the country to benefit its citizens.”
It is not through foreign intervention that we are going to solve the problems of any country”, he added, “and so it’s important that that principle also applies to Libya.
Following the movement of military convoys under the command of Mr. Haftar from the east towards the capital, reported early on Thursday, the UN chief made a “strong appeal” for de-escalation and an end to any deployments by any military factions inside Libya.
After meeting Mr. Serrraj, he said, “we share the recognition that there is no military solution for any problem in the world, and there is no military solution for the problems in Libya. The solution must be political, and it is essential that a political solution is very strong, through dialogue.”
‘Shocked by level of suffering’ in detention centre
The UN chief also described how he had been “moved and shocked” after visiting a detention centre for refugees and migrants in Tripoli on Thursday: “(I was) shocked by the level of suffering, and especially by the level of despair that I found. This is, of course, not only a responsibility for Libya, it’s a responsibility for the whole of the international community”, he added.
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