Head of UNSMIL: Libya full of unwanted presence of mercenaries

Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) Jan Kubis said on Thursday that Libya is still full of the unwanted presence of mercenaries or different forces.

In a press conference with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, Kubis added: "I am hearing in my meetings with different Libyan actors, it doesn’t matter from which part of the country, it doesn’t matter from which political spectrum, part of the political spectrum they are coming, they do not want to see foreign forces and foreign presence on their territory."

The UNSMIL head explained that the Libyans would like to see the soonest withdrawal of mercenaries from their soil. "This is a proud country, a sovereign country of proud and sovereign people," he said.

Kubis went on saying: "Everyone who can contribute should contribute to this. We as the UN directly, maybe through the monitoring of the ceasefire through other activities, would be happy to help both the country and the international partners to honor the wish of the people of the country, of the authorities and with the international community starting with the Security Council that expressed their will very clearly through the respective resolutions of the Security Council."