Fayez al-Sarraj, AFRICOM Commander meet in western Libya

22 Juin 2020

Tripoli, Libya, June 22 (Infosplusgabon) - Libyan Presidential Council President Fayez al-Sarraj on Monday met in camera in Zouara, 120 km west of Tripoli, with the head of the Military Command of the US forces in Africa (AFRICOM), General Stephen Townsend, in the presence of US ambassador to Libya Richard Norland, informed sources said.

Libyan Interior minister Fathi Bachagha and the military commander of the Western region, Gen. Osama al-Jouweili, attended  the meeting to examine cooperation between Libya and AFRICOM, which had left the country in April 2019, after Haftar's forces attack on Tripoli.

On Sunday, the United States National Security Council, under the auspices of the U.S. presidency, expressed "opposition to the military escalation in Libya".

In a tweet, the US Security Council "urged the parties to respect the ceasefire and to resume negotiations immediately".

"We must build on the progress made through the United Nations 5 + 5 talks, the Cairo initiative and the Berlin conference process," said the Council.

AFRICOM announced last Thursday that it had new evidence of the activity of Russian fighter planes in Libya, revealing the fear that these planes, led by "inexperienced mercenaries", would not respect international laws during the bombings.

In a statement, the US Military Command said that this evidence was represented by "photographs" of the planes, which are of 'MiG-29' type at al-Jafra and Sirte in Libya.

AFRICOM director of operations, Admiral Bradford Gering of the Marine Corps said Russia's continued intervention in Libya "increases violence and delays political solution," adding that "Russia continues to lobby for a strategic position on the southern flank of NATO, and that is to the detriment of innocent Libyan lives.

"It is feared that these Russian planes will be exploited by mercenaries of inexperienced private non-governmental military companies, will not respect international law, that is to say they are not bound by the conventional laws of armed conflict, and if that is true and the bombing takes place, innocent Libyan lives will be in danger."

FIN/ INFOSPLUSGABON/ORE/GABON2020

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