By Libya Herald staff.
5 March 2015:
All 23 political delegates taking part in the UN-brokered dialogue process arrived in the Moroccan seaside . . .[restrict]resort of Skhirat, south of Rabat (not Marrakech as earlier mistakenly reported) this afternoon for the latest round of talks and almost immediately got down to business. The atmosphere is said to be positive although the discussions between the those delegates from the House of Representatives (HoR) and the General National Congress (GNC) will be again be indirect as was the case in Ghadames three weeks ago.
As delegates flew to Morocco, the head of the official air force, Saqr Adam Geroushi, announced that there would be a three-day moratorium on air strikes against Libya Dawn forces to give the give the dialogue “a chance” to succeed. Earlier in the day, though, LNA aircraft had again attacked Mitiga airbase, one of the main operations centres of Libya Dawn. Dawn then bombed Zintan.
Speaking to Al-Arabiya TV, Geroushi said that the airforce would respond if attacked. He also said that the moratorium, ordered by Generals Khalifa Hafter, newly appointed Commander General of the Libyan National Army, and Abduk Razzaq Al-Nazhuri, the Chief of Staff, did not extend to ground forces.
Yesterday, speaking to the UN Security Council in a video link, the UN’s Special Envoy to Libya, Bernardino Leon, had questioned the commitment to the dialogue by Libya’s opposing military leaders who had launched attacks on airports just hours after both the HoR and the GNC had agreed to go to Morocco. He said that Libya’s political had a legal duty to restrain the military and stop further attacks.
Participants attending:
- Emhemed Shoaib (Deputy President of HoR, from Zawia)
- Abubakr Buera (HoR member from Benghazi)
- Sadiq Idris Mohamed (HoR member from Qasr Ben Gashir)
- Saleh Huma (HoR member from Timsa)
- Mossa El Koni (former member of the NTC)
- Ahmad Al Abbar (former member of the NTC)
- Fathi Bashagha (boycotting member of the HoR for Misrata)
- Na’eem Al Gharyani (boycotting member of the HoR for Gharian)
- Tawfiq Shuhabi (former member of Congresss for Tobruk and leader of 94 Group. Was spokesman for the National Force Alliance)
- Fawzi Egab (former member of the GNC)
- Naima Gebril (legal adviser from Benghzi; was a member of committee with Sulaimen Zubi that wrote the law setting up the Constitutional Drafting Assembly)
- Nihad Maetig (Civil society activist, and sister of Ahmed Maetig, Congress’ choice to replace Abdullah Al-Thinni as prime minister)
- Fadeel Amin (Chairman of the Preparatory Commission for National Dialogue
- Nuri Elabbar (former head of Higher National Elections Commission)
- Saleh Al Makhzoum (Justice & Construction member for Wadi Ashatti, Deputy GNC President)
- Omar Hemidan (GNC spokesman of Congress, member from Zliten)
- Mohammad Al-Amari (head of the Islamist Wafa block in GNC; from Benghazi)
- Mohamed Emazab (GNC member from Ajdabiya)
- Suleiman Al-Fagieh (boycotting member of the HoR for Misrata)
- Mohamed Abdulaziz (former Foreign Minister; ambassador-at-large for HoR)
- Mustafa Abushagour (former Deputy Prime Minister, briefly nominated PM in succession to Abdulrahim Al-Kib, member of HoR for Suq Al-Juma)
- Sherif El-Wafi (former GNC member, one of the leaders of 94 group, runner up in the GNC presidential elections won by Nuri Abu Sahmain)
- Omar Abu Leefa (Member of GNC for Misrata, President of its Legislative Committee)
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