France’s President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday called for an unconditional ceasefire in the ongoing battle for Libya’s capital Tripoli. The appeal followed a meeting held between Macron and United Nations-backed Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj in Paris on Wednesday.
In a statement released on Wednesday, France said the ceasefire in Libya should be implemented under international supervision, reported Aljazeera.
“Noting that there is no military solution to the Libyan conflict, and to put an end to the military offensive launched towards Tripoli, the President of the Republic encouraged an unconditional ceasefire,” Macron’s office said in a statement supporting a U.N. peace plan and elections.
The statement added that Macron and Serraj agreed on the importance of extending and deepening the dialogue with all stakeholders in Libya, including in the east, south, and west of the country, and with civil society.
Notably, France has been supportive of eastern Libyan forces commander Khalifa Haftar, who launched a strike on Serraj’s Tripoli base in early April in the name of combatting terrorism and restoring order, in the past. Libya has been without a unified government since the 2011 ouster and killing of former long-serving leader Muammar Gaddafi.
According to the data released by the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday, the fighting has already killed at least 433 people and wounded 2,110 while displacing more than 55,000 others.
While it was expected of Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) to slow down during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the eastern Libyan forces commander himself urged his troops to battle harder with the enemies and teach them an “even harder lesson” during the holy month.
During an interview with TV channel France24, Serraj said Haftar was attempting a power grab.
“Haftar and (his armed groups) only want to control power in Tripoli under the pretext of the war on terrorism and militias,” he said, urging a “clearer stance” from Paris towards Haftar.
