BENGHAZI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd November, 2020) The Libyan National Army (LNA) considers a ceasefire agreement reached by five senior military officers from each of the Libyan warring sides in late October as a basis for stability in the North African country, Brig. Gen. Khaled Mahjoub, the head of the LNA Moral Guidance Department, told Sputnik.
Libya's warring parties signed the nationwide ceasefire deal on October 23 at UN-facilitated commission talks in Geneva.
"We, as the Libyan Armed Forces, are totally convinced that the 5+5 agreement is the basis of any stabilization process in Libya. No stability can be reached in Libya without dismantling the militias, transferring their weapons, withdrawing mercenaries and freezing the Turkish intervention that has gained control over the country's sovereign sites like ports and military bases," Mahjoub said.
The LNA official added that the military agreement was in line with the requirements of the Libyan citizens "to expel mercenaries and foreign forces and block treaties" concluded by the rival Government of National Accord (GNA) and Turkey, including those related to military training.
According to Mahjoub, the ceasefire agreement is binding, since it was issued by the UN Security Council and reflects "the international will."
The 5+5 Joint Military Commission, which emerged from January's Berlin peace conference on Libya, held its first round of talks back in February. The sides are seeking to achieve peace after years of conflict following the overthrow and assassination of former leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
According to the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), a fifth round of the military commission's talks, which were held for the first time on the Libyan territory since the signing of a ceasefire, kicked off on Monday and will last until November 4 in the town of Ghadames under the auspices of Acting Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Libya Stephanie Williams.
Participants of the negotiations are set to discuss the implementation of the ceasefire agreement, including via the establishment of sub-committees and a monitoring and verification tool, according to UNSMIL.
The talks will be followed by the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum in Tunisia on November 9.
