By Sami Zaptia.
London, 30 April 2021:
The fourth meeting of the 5 + 5 Joint Military Commission (JMC) concluded in Sirte yesterday after five days in the presence of a delegate from UNSMIL and the heads of the sub-committees formed by the JMC.
At the end of its meetings, the JMC issued a statement in which it:
- Affirmed that the JMC welcomed the issuance of Security Council Resolution 2571 / 2021, including its call for the full implementation of the ceasefire concluded on October 23, 2020.
- The statement also strongly urged all member states to respect, support and fully implement the ceasefire agreement, including the withdrawal of all (our italics) foreign forces and mercenaries without delay, and the JMC valued in its statement the efforts made by the United Nations and the member states that contributed to the issuance of this resolution.
- The JMC also valued the attendance of President of the Presidential Council, Mohamed Menfi, and UNSMIL head Jan Kubis, part of its meetings at its headquarters in Sirte.
- The JMC also confirmed its efforts to find out the reasons for the delay in opening the coastal road between Sirte and Misrata, and in order to speed up procedures for opening the coastal road, it decided the following in its statement.
First, the JMC contacted the Libyan executive authority to clarify the latest difficulties hindering the opening of the coastal road, and appropriate solutions were proposed for this purpose.
Second, the JMC confirmed that in the event that the coastal road is not opened very soon, the obstructors will be named, and the reasons leading to this to take appropriate steps.
Third, the JMC chose the command of the Joint Military Force and assign it to start implementing the tasks assigned to it.
Fourth, the JMC has chosen a headquarters for the command of the force in Sirte, provided that the force is stationed in the two areas specified by the JMC.
Fifth, the JMC assigned the force leadership to merge the force’s personnel from both sides and redistribute them to the two specified camps.
The JMC also approved the internal work regulations and renewed the urgent job that help it to carry out its tasks, establish an office to deal with the file of detainees and missing persons, and assign two of its members, in addition to a member of the Security Arrangements Committee, to assess the tasks of this office in order to establish a data hall and document information to do whatever work is possible.
