The United Nations special envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salame, on Wednesday warned that the Security Council’s inaction could escalate the ongoing war in Libya if outside patrons lend support to the warring sides, reported The Libya Observer.
The announcement comes five months after rebel commander Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army launched an offensive on April 4 to conquer the capital, Tripoli. His soldiers are fighting the forces of the Government of National Accord led by Fayed Al-Sarraj.
“Many Libyans feel abandoned by part of the international community and exploited by others,” Salame said as he briefed the Security Council on the latest developments in Libya.
He warned the Security Council that the conflict will continue unless key regional and international countries recognize that only a political solution can ensure Libya’s stability.
Salame added that without the unequivocal support of the council and the broader international community for an immediate end to the Libyan conflict, he believes that Libya and the international community will be faced with two highly unpalatable scenarios.
“One is persistent and protracted low-intensity conflict. The other is increased support for either warring side by their outside patrons.” Salame remarked.
The UnNenvoy to Libya indicated that such scenarios would lead to a sharp escalation that will assuredly plunge the entire region into chaos.
“The idea that war should be given a chance and that a military solution is at all possible is quite simply a chimera” he said.
During discussions on Libya’s situation, Kuwait, South Africa, Indonesia and Germany complained about what they called interference in that country’s affairs and repeated violations in the past five months of an arms embargo imposed on Libya in 2011.
Major powers such as Britain, France, Russia, and the US avoided giving speeches on Wednesday, saving their turns for a closed-door session to be held after the public one.
