UN: Libyan parties reached draft agreement of permanent ceasefire

Today, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) revealed that the two parties to the Joint 5+5 Military Committee will present a draft permanent ceasefire agreement to Fayez Al-Sarraj, head of the internationally recognized Government of National Accord, and retired Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, noting that a new meeting will be held between the next month at the headquarters of the international organization in Geneva.

In a statement, the UNSMIL indicated that “the two parties agreed that a draft agreement will be presented for further consultation before the resumption of talks and the accomplishment of the terms of reference and tasks of the sub-committees necessary to implement the desired agreement”, renewing its call for both parties to fully comply with the current truce and stressing the need to protect civilians and their property and vital facilities.

The UN mission noted that the second round of negotiations between the two sides ended yesterday, Sunday, in light of the United Nations efforts to reach a sustainable ceasefire agreement and restore security and stability to the Libyan civilian areas, noting that the work of this committee represents one of the three files that the mission is working on, aside from the economic and political tracks, based on UN Security Council Resolution No. 2510 for the current year, which called on the two sides to reach a permanent ceasefire agreement.

The UNSMIL stated that the two warring parties in Libya “are serious and have a sincerely desire and a high professional spirit, which was reflected in the talks”, adding that the mission worked with them to prepare a draft agreement for a permanent ceasefire and to facilitate the safe return of civilians to their areas with a joint monitoring mechanism led and supervised by the UNSMIL and the Joint Military Commission.

The 5+5 Military Committee includes five officers representing the internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) and five others on behalf of the eastern Libya forces known as the Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Khalifa Haftar.

It is noteworthy that the establishment of this committee was decided during the international conference on Libya hosted by Germany on 19 January, which discussed practical ways of reducing the tension in Libya by implementing a ceasefire in preparation for an agreement leading to long-term security arrangements.

Middle East Monitor