By Libya Herald staff.
Malta, 20 January 2015:
The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) expressed its ”concern about the reported breaches . . .[restrict]of the ceasefire that the parties to the conflict had unilaterally declared earlier. It urged the parties to discuss and commit to speedy concrete measures to consolidate the truce and tackle any violation”.
It was referring to the ceasfires declared by the two conflicting Libyan parties as a result of the Geneva peace talks last week.
UNSMIL said that it viewed ”any violation, no matter how limited, as a grave development that could undermine the entire truce”. It called on each side to ”expedite the appointment of a representative to liaise with UNSMIL on the implementation and compliance. This liaison mechanism is an important platform to discuss proposals on the way forward to ensure that the ceasefire holds and is strengthened”, it said.
It reminded the parties that the ”ceasefire includes a total halt to the movement of armed personnel and vehicles and applies to ground, sea and air operations”.
In addition to stopping the bloodshed and destruction, a truce contributes to creating a conducive environment for the political dialogue to resolve Libya’s political and security crisis. The Mission hopes the truce will also allow humanitarian aid to flow to the displaced and the needy in affected areas and will encourage international organizations to resume full operations in the country, the statement concluded. [/restrict]
