Moscow calls on the warring parties in Libya to abandon the use of force and to reach a long-term truce through negotiations amid resumed clashes between local armed groups, the Russia Foreign Ministry said Monday in a statement
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st January, 2019) Moscow calls on the warring parties in Libya to abandon the use of force and to reach a long-term truce through negotiations amid resumed clashes between local armed groups, the Russia Foreign Ministry said Monday in a statement.At least 13 people have been killed and 52 others injured in violent clashes between local armed groups that erupted in the Libyan capital of Tripoli on Wednesday, according to the Libyan Health Ministry. Mohamed Ben Khalifa, an acclaimed photographer who worked with RT's video agency Ruptly and the Associated Press, was killed on Saturday during shelling in Tripoli.
"We urge all the warring Libyan parties to abandon the use of force to resolve disputes, to sit down at the negotiating table and to conclude a long-term truce that would restore calm in the capital and its suburbs. We are convinced that any problems can and should be solved only through constructive dialogue," the statement reads.
The ministry expressed serious concern over the resumption of hostilities in the south of Tripoli between various armed groups.
"It is obvious that this outbreak of violence makes it difficult to continue the process of intra-Libyan political settlement," the ministry said.
Libya has been torn apart by conflict since its long-time leader, Muammar Gaddafi, was overthrown in 2011. The eastern part of the country is governed by the parliament, backed by the Libyan National Army (LNA) and located in Tobruk. The UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), headed by Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj, operates in the country's west and is headquartered in Tripoli.
