TUNIS, Tunisia: Libya’s rival factions began much-awaited political peace talks in Tunisia’s capital on Monday brokered by the United Nations, with a goal of drawing a roadmap to presidential and parliamentary elections.
The UN selected 75 delegates from Libya to take part in the six-day forum in a Tunis hotel, aimed at ending the political chaos that engulfed the North African nation after the 2011 overthrow and killing of dictator Muammar Qaddafi.
Tunisian President Kais Said attended the talks’ opening ceremony, calling the forum “historic by all measures.” Said added the UN efforts aim to set “clear measures and specific dates” to reach “a peaceful solution” in Libya’s conflict.
He also called on those who will lead the transitional period to refrain from running in the next presidential or parliamentary elections.
Stephanie Williams, the top UN official in Libya, told journalists Sunday night that preparatory meetings have been positive.
“Libya now has an excellent opportunity which will allow it to get out of the conflict tunnel, if all the interlocutors assume their responsibilities and respect their commitments at the end of this dialogue,” Williams said.
But previous diplomatic initiatives to end the conflict have repeatedly collapsed. These latest talks however came amid heavy international pressure to start talks. Warring sides agreed to a UN-brokered cease-fire agreement last month in Geneva.
Oil-rich Libya is now split between a UN-supported government in the capital, Tripoli, and rival authorities based in the east. Those sides are backed by an array of local militias, as well as regional and foreign powers.
Eastern Libya forces, led by commander Khalifa Haftar, launched an offensive in April 2019 to try and capture Tripoli. His campaign collapsed in June when the Tripoli-allied militias, with heavy Turkish support, gained the upper hand.
Libya’s rivals start UN-led talks to reach political accord
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Libya’s rivals start UN-led talks to reach political accord
- The UN selected 75 delegates from Libya to take part in the six-day forum aimed at ending the political chaos
- Libya is split between a UN-supported government in the capital, Tripoli, and rival authorities based in the east
Syrian government and SDF agree to de-escalate after Aleppo violence
- Turkiye views the US-backed SDF, which controls swathes of northeastern Syria, as a terrorist organization and has warned of military action if the group does not honor the agreement
DAMASCUS: Syrian government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces agreed to de-escalate on Monday evening in the northern city of Aleppo, after a wave of attacks that both sides blamed on each other left at least two civilians dead and several wounded.
Syria’s state news agency SANA, citing the defense ministry, said the army’s general command issued an order to stop targeting the SDF’s fire sources. The SDF said in a statement later that it had issued instructions to stop responding to attacks by Syrian government forces following de-escalation contacts.
HIGHLIGHTS
• SDF and Syrian government forces blame each other for Aleppo violence
• Turkiye threatens military action if SDF fails integration deadline
• Aleppo schools and offices closed on Tuesday following the violence
The Syrian health ministry said two people were killed and several were wounded in shelling by the SDF on residential neighborhoods in the city. The injuries included two children and two civil defense workers. The violence erupted hours after Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said during a visit to Damascus that the SDF appeared to have no intention of honoring a commitment to integrate into the state’s armed forces by an agreed year-end deadline.
Turkiye views the US-backed SDF, which controls swathes of northeastern Syria, as a terrorist organization and has warned of military action if the group does not honor the agreement.
Integrating the SDF would mend Syria’s deepest remaining fracture, but failing to do so risks an armed clash that could derail the country’s emergence from 14 years of war and potentially draw in Turkiye, which has threatened an incursion against Kurdish fighters it views as terrorists.
Both sides have accused the other of stalling and acting in bad faith. The SDF is reluctant to give up autonomy it won as the main US ally during the war, which left it with control of Daesh prisons and rich oil resources.
SANA, citing the defense ministry, reported earlier that the SDF had launched a sudden attack on security forces and the army in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyah neighborhoods of Aleppo, resulting in injuries.
The SDF denied this and said the attack was carried out by factions affiliated with the Syrian government. It said those factions were using tanks and artillery against residential neighborhoods in the city.
The defense ministry denied the SDF’s statements, saying the army was responding to sources of fire from Kurdish forces. “We’re hearing the sounds of artillery and mortar shells, and there is a heavy army presence in most areas of Aleppo,” an eyewitness in Aleppo told Reuters earlier on Monday. Another eyewitness said the sound of strikes had been very strong and described the situation as “terrifying.”
Aleppo’s governor announced a temporary suspension of attendance in all public and private schools and universities on Tuesday, as well as government offices within the city center.
