The French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Monday said France will chair a meeting on Libya in at the headquarters of the United Nations in New York next Thursday, reported The Libya Observer.
The meeting will have the presence of Italian Foreign Minister, Representatives of permanent member states, Egypt, Germany, UAE, Turkey, European Union, African Union, and Arab League.
Le Drian told reporters that the meeting aims to open doors for the political process ahead of an upcoming momentous international conference on Libya to be held in November in Berlin.
He said that there is no military solution to the conflict in Libya and that all Libyans should engage in dialogue, which he hoped will be initiated after the end of Berlin conference.
“I am not the one who says what role Khalifa Haftar has in Libya,” Le Drian added. “Libyans should do that in a dialogue manner that would be possible after the upcoming international conference.”
The fighting between the forces loyal to renegade military commander Haftar and the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) began in early April. Until now, the clashes have left more than 1,000 dead and about 5,500 injured. Over 120,000 were forced to leave their homes away because of the violence.
Haftar’s eastern-based army on Monday said it launched airstrikes in the south of the capital Tripoli on Sunday night and killed 20 of the rival UN-backed government’s forces.
“Fighter jets of the air force targeted a position of the militias (UN-backed government’s forces) in Hira area (southern Tripoli), destroying 4 of the enemy’s armored vehicles and killing 20 of their troops,” a statement issued by the army’s information office read.
The statement confirmed that the armed forces cover all areas of military operations threatening to target any suspicious movements or positions.
