Condemnations voiced by the United Nations are not enough to stop the constant attacks by forces loyal to putschist Khalifa Haftar, Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) stated.
GNA's Libyan Army spokesman Mohammad Qanunu in a written statement Saturday said: “U.N. condemnations have not been able to stop bombardments conducted by Haftar's militias, these will not stop unless we use our right to self-defense.”
Qanunu drew attention to the fact that the militias had continued their bombardments on civilian settlements in order to achieve what dialogue could not. The U.N.-recognized government on Saturday said it struck multiple targets of warlord Haftar's forces south of the capital Tripoli.
It said the offensive served as retaliation for attacks by Haftar's forces on civilian settlements in Tripoli and the Mitiga International Airport. The GNA said Haftar's forces had launched more than 60 rockets at the capital, 25 of which targeted the airport.
In a statement earlier this week, the GNA Health Ministry said 21 civilians, including women and children, were killed and 31 injured in attacks by Haftar's militias from Jan 9. to Feb. 20.
Political talks inconclusive
The U.N. envoy for Libya on Friday said three days of political talks in Geneva, as part of the peace process to secure a cease-fire in the conflict-ridden country, ended without any result.
The talks which began on Feb. 26 only managed to plan an agenda and terms of reference for the next round of talks with no concrete steps toward a cease-fire, said Ghassan Salamshe, the special representative of the U.N. Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).
"There have been serious violations of the conflict agreement in the country in the past 24 hours," Salame said.
He said he was "surprised" when on the first day of talks, six of the 13 representatives of the High State Council left for Libya, saying they were asked to do so. Salame said he would invite the parties to Geneva for a second round next month and try to find out why they suddenly left. The U.N. envoy stressed that finding solutions to the Libyan crisis depended on the continuation of "military, economic and political" negotiations on three separate but interlinked fronts
"Therefore, I invite all parties to respect the conflict agreement reached on 12 January," said the U.N. envoy.
Fighting has continued on the ground despite a call for a truce by Turkey and Russia starting on Jan. 12 and an international summit on Libya in Berlin on Jan. 19 aimed at reducing international interference.
There are three tracks determined in the application of the Berlin conference's conclusions reached on Jan. 19. The first is the military track, which brought together five senior military officers from Haftar's so-called Libyan National Army and five representatives aligned with the internationally recognized GNA; the second is the economic and financial track, held in Cairo; while the third political track will launch on Feb. 26.
Since the ouster of late ruler Moammar Gadhafi in 2011, two seats of power have emerged in Libya: Haftar in eastern Libya, supported mainly by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, and the GNA in Tripoli, which enjoys U.N. and international recognition.
