BRUSSELS: The EU on Friday called on Libya’s warring sides to establish a permanent truce and return to UN-led talks to prepare for quick elections.
Meanwhile, nine loyalist fighters were killed in clashes with Haftar forces in the south of Tripoli, the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) said on Friday.
Nearly 1,100 people have been reported killed since eastern commander Khalifa Haftar, based in eastern Libya, launched an offensive against the capital Tripoli on April 4.
“The European Union and its member states are united in demanding that all Libyan parties commit to a permanent cease-fire,” EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said.
The EU also urged the parties to return to a UN-brokered political process, Mogherini said in a statement issued in Brussels while she met ASEAN foreign ministers in Bangkok.
The EU and its 28 countries, she said, welcome UN envoy Ghassan Salame’s cease-fire proposal for the upcoming Eid Al-Adha holiday as well as his call to relaunch negotiations.
The EU has long supported the GNA in a bid to restore peace and stability following the 2011 revolt that toppled Muammar Qaddafi. His ouster occurred after EU countries Britain and France gave military support to anti-Qaddafi rebels.
The European Union and its member states are united in demanding that all Libyan parties commit to a permanent cease-fire.
Federica Mogherini, EU foreign policy chief
The EU has also worked for years with the GNA to curb the flow of migrants through a largely lawless Libya to Europe from sub-Saharan Africa. The four months of fighting has complicated such cooperation.
Haftar’s forces launched an offensive in April to try to wrest Tripoli from forces backing the Government of National Accord (GNA).
Fighting between the two warring sides has since remained deadlocked on the southern outskirts of the city.
