By Libya Herald staff.
Tripoli, 26 August 2014:
The governments of France, Germany, Italy, the UK and the US have said that outside . . .[restrict]interference in Libya would only exacerbate the current divisions within the country and undermine Libya’s democratic transition.
In a joint statement on Monday, the western nations strongly condemned the escalation of fighting and violence in and around Tripoli, Benghazi and across Libya, especially against residential areas, public facilities and critical infrastructure.
Reiterating their repeated calls for all parties to observe an immediate ceasefire and engage in constructive dialogue, they implored the militias to abstain from confrontational initiatives that risked undermining the democratic process.
The group also stated that those responsible for the violence, which has undermined Libya’s democratic transition and national security, must be held accountable and that consequences for their actions should be discussed by the United Nations Security Council.
They called on Libya’s interim government and the House of Representatives to adopt inclusive policies that benefited all Libyans and encouraged the Constitutional Drafting Assembly to immediately return to drafting a document that would protect the rights of all Libyans. In particular, they called on the international community to stand behind Libya’s elected institutions.
The European Union (EU) released a similarly worded statement, saying it welcomed the coming United Nations Security Council’s discussions regarding Libya. The EU statement condemned the use of fighter jets to carry out strikes on residential areas. [/restrict]
