Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj
GENEVA/BENGHAZI, Feb 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj denounced the shelling of civilian areas and airports in his country, labelling renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar a “war criminal” in a speech to the UN Human Rights Council.
“Children have lost their right to education due to the shelling and the closure of schools because of the attacker and those who fund the attacker and provide weapons, these must be held accountable,” Serraj told the forum.
He said that his internationally recognised Government of National Accord had “always showed its readiness to move forward on the path to peace and stability”. U.N. political talks between the two sides are due to be held in Geneva on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, lawmakers based in areas of eastern Libya controlled by military commander Khalifa Haftar said they would not participate for now in peace talks with politicians allied to the internationally recognized government.
The eastern politicians said the United Nations, which is brokering the talks in Geneva, had not approved all the members of their proposed delegation.
UNSMIL had approved only eight of their 13 delegates, Ahmaida Erouhma, head of the Geneva committee at the eastern parliament, told reporters in the eastern city of Benghazi.
The lawmakers’ refusal is the latest blow to U.N. efforts to end an almost year-long offensive by Haftar’s forces aimed at taking the capital Tripoli.
The United Nations had planned to bring together lawmakers from both sides of Libya’s conflict on Wednesday to end the fighting over Tripoli as part of a dialogue encompassing military, political and economic strands.
Libya’s internationally recognized government based in Tripoli meanwhile described Haftar as a “war criminal” and demanded that he withdraw his forces threatening the capital.
The government, which nearly walked out of the Geneva talks last week, blamed Haftar’s forces for shelling Tripoli’s port shortly after the negotiations got underway.
Senior military figures on both sides on Sunday agreed to submit a draft ceasefire agreement to their leaderships before meeting again next month, the U.N. Libya mission, UNSMIL, said in a statement.
UNSMIL spokesman Jean El Alam said the talks would go ahead as scheduled but declined to comment specifically on the participation of either side.
“Many participants have already arrived in Geneva and we hope all invited participants follow suit,” he said.
The two sides have so far been seated in separate rooms, with U.N. envoy Ghassan Salame shuttling between them.
Nearly nine years since NATO-backed rebels overthrew Muammar Gaddafi, Libya is still without a central authority in control of its towns and cities. Armed groups patrol the streets, while rival governments are in place in Tripoli and the east.
Haftar is allied to a rival government and parliament in eastern Libya, which is home also to a parallel central bank and oil company.
Both sides are backed by foreign powers. Haftar’s Libya National Army (LNA) faction has support from Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, while Turkey has sent soldiers and arms to help the Tripoli government. — NNN-AGENCIES
