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Speaking to Council members, Williams said that “since the Secretary-General’s last briefing on you on July 8, some 70 supply flights have landed at eastern airports in support of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar’s forces. while 30 flights of supplies were sent to airports in western Libya in support of the Government of National Accord. ” .
Similarly, about nine freighters docked in western ports in support of the Government of National Accord, while three freighters were reported to have arrived in support of Haftar-led forces, he added during a session dedicated to discussing the situation in Libya.
The UN envoy noted that “foreign sponsors are strengthening their assets in the main Libyan air bases in the east and west”, and regretted that all these activities “constitute a serious violation of Libya’s sovereignty, and a flagrant violation of the arms embargo imposed by the United Nations “on this country in 2011.
Williams explained that the United Nations Support Mission in Libya, whose mandate is expected to be renewed in mid-September, “continues to receive reports of the presence of mercenaries and large-scale foreign agents, which increases the complexity of the local dynamics and the possibilities of reaching an agreement in the future ”.
Turkey supports the Government of National Accord recognized by the United Nations, while the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Russia support the Haftar camp.
During the session, the Russian ambassador to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzia, rejected his country’s repeated accusations of militarily interfering in Libya, stressing that “there is not a single Russian army in Libya.”
On the other hand, US Ambassador Kelly Craft criticized the presence of Russian mercenaries in Libya, linked to the Russian government.
“There is no place in Libya for foreign mercenaries, including the Wagner Group of the Russian Defense Ministry, which is fighting alongside and in support of forces loyal to Haftar,” he said.
The French ambassador, Nicolas de Riviere, called on his side to strengthen the United Nations mission in Libya so that he can monitor a possible ceasefire and better enforce respect for the arms embargo.
During the session, several members of the Council called for the appointment of an original UN envoy to Libya as soon as possible.
Due to ongoing disagreements between the United States and its partners over the specific tasks of the UN envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salameh’s successor, who resigned in March for health reasons, has yet to be appointed.
Since the fall of the Muammar Gaddafi regime in 2011, Libya has witnessed successive conflicts that have exhausted the population of the country that has the largest oil reserves in Africa.
Since 2015, two ruling powers have been in conflict: the Government of National Accord led by Fayez al-Sarraj, based in Tripoli (west), and a parallel government supported by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar in the east of the country.
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