TUNIS: The new United Nations envoy to Libya pledged on Thursday to “spare no effort in achieving peace and stability” in the divided country, said the UN Support Mission in Libya.
Hanna Serwaa Tetteh, a Hungary-born Ghanaian former parliamentarian and minister, said as she took up the role in Tripoli that her task “will not be easy” and called for “working together,” UNSMIL said in a statement.
Libya has struggled to recover from the chaos that followed the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that overthrew longtime ruler Muammar Qaddafi.
It remains split between a UN-recognized government in Tripoli and a rival authority in the east backed by military strongman Khalifa Haftar.
Tetteh was appointed last month by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as his Special Representative and head of UNSMIL, succeeding the Senegalese Abdoulaye Bathily, who stepped down in April last year.
She was previously appointed the UN Special Representative for the Horn of Africa in 2022 and is the 10th official to hold the Libya role since 2011.
Tetteh pledged to “forge a path toward a Libyan-led and Libyan-owned solution.”
She said her mission would also “work with regional and international actors... to preserve national unity, territorial integrity, and sovereignty.”
Presidential and parliamentary elections in the oil-rich North African country had been scheduled for December 2021 but were indefinitely postponed due to disputes between rival factions.
“UNSMIL will continue to work tirelessly to support and enable Libyan institutions to hold inclusive national elections and forge a collective national vision to address Libya’s long-standing challenges,” said the statement.
New UN envoy to Libya vows to pursue ‘peace and stability’
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New UN envoy to Libya vows to pursue ‘peace and stability’
- Hanna Serwaa Tetteh said as she took up the role in Tripoli that her task “will not be easy” and called for “working together“
- She was appointed last month by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as his Special Representative and head of UNSMIL
Syrian government foils Daesh plot to attack churches and New Year celebrations
- Bomber kills soldier in Aleppo, detonates explosives injuring 2 others
ALEPPO, DAMASCUS: The Syrian Interior Ministry announced on Thursday that it had thwarted a Daesh plot to carry out suicide attacks targeting New Year celebrations and churches, particularly in Aleppo.
The ministry said in a statement that, as part of ongoing counterterrorism efforts and careful monitoring of Daesh cells in cooperation with partner agencies, it had received intelligence indicating plans for suicide attacks targeting New Year celebrations in several provinces, particularly Aleppo, with a focus on churches and civilian gathering areas.
The ministry added that it took preemptive measures, including reinforcing security around churches, deploying mobile and fixed patrols, and setting up checkpoints across the city.
During operations at a checkpoint in Aleppo’s Bab Al-Faraj district, security forces intercepted a suspected Daesh member who opened fire. One internal security soldier was killed, and the attacker detonated explosives, injuring two others.
Daesh recently increased its attacks in Syria, and was blamed for an attack last month in Palmyra that killed three Americans.
On Dec. 13, two US soldiers and an American civilian were killed in an attack Washington blamed on a lone Daesh gunman in Palmyra.
In retaliation, American forces struck scores of Daesh targets in Syria.
Syrian authorities have also carried out several operations against Daesh since then, saying on Dec. 25 they had killed a senior leader of the group.
