Libya: Presidential Council calls on UN Security Council to deter Haftar

The Presidential Council of the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) called on the UN Security Council, on Tuesday, to take a “firm and deterrent stance” against Khalifa Haftar, following the latest aerial bombing launched by the latter’s forces on the cities of Tripoli and Misrata, causing casualties.

Since 4 April, Haftar’s forces have been launching a faltering offensive to seize the capital Tripoli (west), where the GNA’s headquarters is located, as part of a struggle for legitimacy and power in the oil-rich country.

The Presidential Council condemned, in a statement, “the terrorist bombing executed by foreign aircraft, which targeted last night the main stores of the development of administrative canters in Misrata.”

The statement indicated that “this terrorist act of the war criminal and his militia (in reference to Haftar) is to be added to a series of terrorist attacks on airports, hospitals, schools, and government institutions as well as public and private property.”

The statement added that the latest of these attacks is the “bombing of the agro-food factory in the Wadi Rabi area in Tripoli on Monday, which resulted in killing and injuring dozens of Libyans, Arabs and people of different nationalities.”

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The Presidential Council called on the United Nations Support Mission in Libya to “assume its responsibility in calling on the UN Security Council to activate its resolutions and take a firm and deterrent action against the war criminal and his militias.”

The Presidential Council said that these crimes “reflect Haftar’s confusion, despair and madness after the failure of his militia to make any progress on the ground. On the other hand, the Libyan army forces and the supporting forces succeeded to thwart Haftar’s ambition to occupy the capital, control the government and restore the totalitarian regime in the country.”

Haftar’s attack on Tripoli hindered the UN efforts to hold a dialogue among Libyans, in light of a UN road map to address the conflict, which has been taking place since 2011.

On 20 December, Berlin will host an international conference on Libya, with the participation of regional and international parties.

On Monday, UN envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salame, expressed confidence in the success of the conference and called on the international community to provide the necessary and favourable conditions for the Libyan parties to the negotiation table, in order to resolve the conflict.