By Sami Zaptia.
London, 11 April 2019:
The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said that there was still time to stop violence in Libya and to avoid the worse.
In a press statement published today, he reiterated, during a media stakeout after briefing the Security Council in closed consultations about his last visit to Libya, that there is no military solution for the ongoing conflict there.
The Secretary-General mentioned what he had said when he was leaving that he was deeply concerned and that he had a heavy heart with the possibility of a serious confrontation in and around Tripoli, and his concerns had been until now entirely confirmed.
“But there was still time for a ceasefire to take place – for a cessation of hostilities to take place and to avoid the worse which would be a dramatic, bloody battle for Tripoli.
There was still time to recognize there is no military solution and that only political solutions can apply to situations like the one in Libya. I want to express my enormous admiration for the work that is courageously being done on the ground by my Special Representative Mr Ghassan Salame”.
The SG concluded that he will do everything to support Mr. Salame’s efforts, expressing his worries about the situation of the migrants and refugees that were caught in this terrible situation.
