By Hadi Fornaji.
Tripoli 25 August 2013:
The standoff between the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) and the Dar Al-Ifta over a . . .[restrict]statement by the latter on Wednesday which appeared to state that the UN supported the division of Libya has been quickly resolved.
Following Wednesday’s statement, UNSMIL rejected the claim, saying that it was unjustified and unfounded.
In a statement today, the Dar Al-Ifta said that it was never its intention to imply that that the UN was seeking to divide Libya. It was a misunderstanding on UNSMIL’s part. What was being condemned in General Fatwa Council’s statement were those in Libya who wanted to enforce federalism and were calling for UN help to do so.
Tarek Mitri, head of UNSMIL and Special Representative the UN’s Secretary General, has taken the same view. Answering a question today at the Prime Minister’s Press Conference, he too said there had been a misinterpretation of what Dar Ifta had meant and that the issue had been resolved. [/restrict]
