By Libya Herald reporter.
Tunis, 28 March 2017:
French ambassador Brigitte Curma and deputy UN special envoy Maria Ribeiro flew to Tobruk for separate talks with the president of the House of Representatives (HoR), Ageela Saleh, as well as with members. For both it was their first visit to Tobruk.
The talks between the Curmi and Saleh were described as “cordial” by the Beida-based government’s French-speaking foreign minister Mohamed Dayri who also attended. According to the HoR media office, Saleh impressed on her the dangers Libya faces from terrorists groups and the need for a political solution that takes into account all Libyans.
Curmi also met members of the HoR’s foreign affairs committee, who raised the issue of militias in Tripoli, and of the national defence and security committee, where again the fight against terrorism was discussed as well as illegal migration and areas of possible bilateral cooperation.
Tariq Geroushi, a member of the national defence and security committee, meanwhile called on France as a veto member of the UN Security Council to end to the arms embargo on Libya, pointing out the challenges facing the Libyan National Army in fighting terrorism with insufficient weaponry. He added that Libya is looking at reducing the amount of weapons in the country and had set up programmes to integrate militia members into the army or find them civilian jobs.
The ambassador, who is accompanied by the military and political attachés, is staying on in Tobuk for a few more days.
For her part, Ribeiro, who is also the UN’s humanitarian coordinator for Libya, discussed healthcare, the continuing threat from mines and the problems facing internally displaced people (IDPs) with a number of women HoR members.
She and her team returned to Tunis later in the day.
Yesterday, she was in Tripoli where she discussed the humanitarian needs of IDPs with the Presidency Council’s minister for migrants and IDP affairs, Yousef Jalala.
Together they also visited the Tawergha refugee camp in Falah district in Tripoli.
