The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) on Thursday welcomed the latest round of talks of the Libyan Joint Military Commission (JMC) held in the Sirte city, located some 450 km east of the capital Tripoli, reported CGTN Africa.
“UNSMIL welcomes the convening of the 7th round of the 5+5 Joint Military Commission (JMC) at its headquarters in Sirte, from Feb. 4 to 7, to continue the planning for the implementation of the cease-fire agreement signed on Oct. 23, 2020, in Geneva,” UNSMIL said in a statement.
According to the statement, the meeting will aim at expediting the opening of the coastal road to enable the safe passage of citizens and goods and building on the progress achieved in previous rounds of the joint commission talks.
In related news, the UNSMIL also instructed Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to deploy ceasefire monitors to war-torn Libya.
“As they examine your recommendation for an amended mandate for the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), the members of the Security Council request that you establish and deploy swiftly an advance team to Libya,” the council said in a letter to Guterres.
Libya’s UN-backed government and the east-based army backed by strongman Khalifa Haftar had been involved in a deadly armed conflict for more than a year in and around Tripoli. The conflict ended in early June 2020 with the UN-backed government announced its takeover of all western Libya after the withdrawal of the east-based army.
Last year in October, the Libyan delegations to the 5+5 Joint Military Commission talks signed a permanent cease-fire agreement in Geneva. In November, the Commission agreed on terms for the cease-fire implementation that includes the departure of foreign fighters from Libya, exchanging all prisoners, removing landmines in cooperation with the UN teams and Libya’s General Intelligence Service, and combating hate speech.
