AU Commissioner Says Berlin Conference On Libya Fails To Tackle Conflict Causes

AU Commissioner Says Berlin Conference on Libya Fails to Tackle Conflict Causes

The African Union (AU) believes the EU-backed Berlin conference on Libya fails to address the root causes of the conflict, and a joint AU-UN effort is needed to map out an alternative plan for Libyan reconciliation, AU commissioner for Peace and Security, Smail Chergui, told Sputnik

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd October, 2019) The African Union (AU) believes the EU-backed Berlin conference on Libya fails to address the root causes of the conflict, and a joint AU-UN effort is needed to map out an alternative plan for Libyan reconciliation, AU commissioner for Peace and Security, Smail Chergui, told Sputnik.

Berlin is expected to host a UN international conference on Libya in late October or early November after organizing a similar event held on the initiative of Germany on September 17.

"As African Union, we don't think that this is a right approach, because we are just continuing to perpetuate the same things that are happening while not addressing the root causes of this situation," Chergui said about the Berlin conference.

The African Union and the United Nations could join their forces to map out a real plan for organizing reconciliation of the Libyans, Chergui said.

The African Union's plan is focused on three main principles, he said.

"First is demanding everybody to respect the UN embargo on armaments. Second � stopping external interference in their affairs. Three is to put pressure on both sides in Libya so that they realize that what's important first and foremost is the interest of the Libyan people, who had enough suffering, who are becoming IDPs [internally displaced people], or are becoming refugees," he explained.

The African Union (AU) has long been engaged in search for solutions to resolve the conflict in Libya. Its High Level Committee on Libya last met on July 7 in Niger's Niamey.

Since the overthrow and killing of long-time Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the country has been gripped by conflict. Libya is now divided between two governments, with the country's eastern part controlled by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA), and the western part headed by the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA). The situation escalated in April, when the LNA launched an offensive to retake Tripoli from the forces loyal to the GNA. The latter, in its turn, has launched a counteroffensive called Volcano of Rage.