UNSMIL head says country at risk of slipping into “unprecedented violence”

By Libya Herald staff.

Tripoli, 11 March 2014:

Head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) Tarek Mitri told the UN Security Council yesterday that “Libya faces the risk of embarking on a new trajectory of unprecedented violence.”

In his latest and most pessimistic report to the UN so far on the current situation in the country, Mitri said Libya was in need of support as increasing political polarisation caused violence across the country.

Referring to the storming of the General National Congress (GNC) just over one week ago, the UNSMIL head said “intense efforts to resolve differences and negotiate an agreement on the management of the transitional period, including the future of the GNC and the government have not succeeded in bringing an end to the divisions that have paralysed the political process”.

There had been a “dramatic” spike in violence in Libya over the last three months, Mitri said citing tribal clashes in Sebha which left over 100 dead and the campaign of targeted assassinations against officials in the east, particularly in Benghazi.

“In a city which prides itself on its role in putting an end to decades of tyrannical rule, the present public’s sense of anger is mounting,” he said. “While the primary responsibility for reining in the perpetrators of this ugly campaign of terror lies with the state, this will only be possible with the concerted efforts by the government, political, civic and revolutionary forces, aiming at the protection of the civilian population.”

Mitri reported that a solution to the problem faced by the nation would require a clear strategy and a number of assurances to revolutionaries who, he said,  were only nominally under state authority. He said this would include recognition of their contributions to the revolution and safeguards for their legitimate rights and interests.

“Support to Libya, however, can be meaningful and effective if there is unequivocal commitment on the part of Libya’s leaders to this goal and a political will to resolve, through dialogue and concerted efforts, the major problems of the country,” he concluded.

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