UNSMIL Head, Aguila Saleh Stress Need to End Divisions in Libya

On Thursday, Acting Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and head of the United Nations Support Mission (UNSMIL) for Libya, Stephanie Williams, held a telephone conversation with Libyan Parliament Speaker Aguila Saleh to discuss the latest developments in the country.

During the talks, Williams and Speaker Saleh, stressed the need to promptly reach a consensus within the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) in order to end the pisions in the country and move forward towards national elections.

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On Wednesday Williams warned of the danger of the deployment of thousands of foreign fighters in Libya.

In her speech during the opening session of the LPDF, held in Tunis today, Williams said that there are now 10 military bases nationwide, not in a particular area, adding that they are either fully or partially occupied by foreign forces.

The UNSMIL head added that there are also 20,000 foreign forces and mercenaries in the North African country, noting that this is a shocking violation of Libyan sovereignty.

“You may believe that these foreigners are here as your guests, but they are now occupying your house. This is a blatant violation of the arms embargo,” she stated.

Williams pointed out that the foreign fighters are pouring weapons into the country, which does not need more weapons, confirming that they are not in Libya for Libyans’ interests; they are in the country for their own interests.

The UN official said that one billion US dollars is needed immediately to be invested in the electrical infrastructure in order to avert a complete collapse of the electrical grid in your country.

“This is very difficult now because of the pisions in the institutions, the epidemic of corruption and this kleptocratic class that is determined to remain in power,” Williams continued.

She also warned Libyans of the danger of interference of some foreign actors who are behaving with complete impunity, adding that there are domestic actors who are engaging in widespread corruption, self-dealing and mismanagement of the country.

The UNSMIL head also highlighted on the increasing lack of accountability and human rights problems on a daily basis, stressing that there are crimes of kidnapping, arbitrary detentions, killings by armed groups all over the country.