By Sami Zaptia.
London, 4 February 2021:
UNSMIL today welcomed the convening of the 7th round of the 5+5 Joint Military Committee (JMC) at its Headquarters in Sirte, from 4 to 7 February, to continue the planning for the implementation of the ceasefire agreement signed on 23 October 2020 in Geneva.
It said that the JMC meeting will focus on expediting the opening of the coastal road to enable safe passage of citizens and goods, building on the progress achieved in previous rounds of the JMC talks.
For this purpose, it revealed that demining experts from both sides, in addition to UNSMIL staff, will attend the meeting to provide technical support and discuss the way forward to clear mines and remnants of war in the areas under the control of each party.
The JMC will also finalize discussions with UNSMIL on the necessary requirements for the deployment of UN monitors in support of the Libyan ceasefire monitoring and verification mechanism, it concluded.
The 5+5 JMC meeting comes as the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) is meeting in Geneva until tomorrow when Libya’s new temporary, interim, unified government should be announced to oversee a referendum on the draft constitution and general elections on 24 December 2021.
