Spread of mercenaries and foreign forces hampers efforts to establish peace in Libya

Fatima Abdul Ghani

Libya’s parliament has granted confidence to the national unity government headed by Abdul Hamid Dabaiba in a move aimed at ending the conflict that has lasted in the country for nearly 10 years.

On Friday, the UN Security Council called, in a unanimous declaration, for the “withdrawal of all foreign forces and mercenaries from Libya without further delay,” welcoming the confidence granted by the Libyan parliament to the country’s transitional government.

According to AFP, the announcement stated that “the Security Council calls on all parties to fully implement the ceasefire agreement (on October 23) and urges member states to respect the agreement and support its full implementation.”

The text also noted that “the Security Council calls for full respect by all member states of the arms embargo imposed by the United Nations, in accordance with the relevant Security Council resolutions.”

The embargo, imposed since 2011, has been regularly violated for years, according to the UN experts charged with monitoring it. Their annual report is expected to be released in the coming days.

“The Security Council recognizes the need to plan for the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of armed groups, reform of the security sector, and the establishment of a comprehensive security structure with civilian leadership for all parts of Libya,” the declaration added.

On his part, the new head of the Libyan Presidency Council, Mohamed al-Menfi, stressed on Friday that “the council will make every effort to turn the page of the past and start the peace process to build a democratic state in which rights and freedoms are preserved.”

In a speech published on his Facebook page, Menfi said, “In light of the tasks assigned to the council, we will work to consolidate peace and make room to support the path of the 5+5 Joint Military Committee in order to unify military institutions on purely professional and national foundations.

Last Tuesday, Libyan Prime Minister-designate Abdul Hamid Dabaiba called for the mercenary forces and foreign fighters present in Libya to leave, stressing his intention to communicate with the United Nations with the aim of removing these forces.

Dabaiba said in his speech before representatives in the eastern city of Sirte, “The mercenaries are a dagger in the back of Libya, and work must be taken to remove them, which requires wisdom and agreement with the countries that sent them.”

“We will contact the United Nations mission to discuss removing these forces,” he added.

At a time when international calls are mounting for the necessity of withdrawing the mercenaries and ending foreign interference in Libya, observers are raising questions about the extent to which Ankara is responding to the international calls and about the decisions that will be taken if Turkey insists on keeping its forces and mercenaries in Libya, especially since the recent statements of Turkish officials are far from the intention to withdraw, as they cling to their ambitions in Libya.

Observers expect Turkey will face international anger if it insists on staying in Libya, especially since the United Nations has repeatedly threatened to impose sanctions on the countries intervening in Libya if they refuse to withdraw their forces.

Observers assert that the success of the political track in the country remains dependent on stopping foreign and in particular Turkish interventions, in light of Ankara’s insistence on fueling differences between the parties, and amid real fears that Turkey will inflame the situation in the coming period by inciting mercenaries to carry out violations of the ceasefire.

Under the ceasefire agreement reached by the two parties to the conflict on October 23, foreign forces and mercenaries must leave the country during the three months following the signing of the agreement – that is, by January 23. But no mercenary forces have withdrawn from Libya despite the deadline stipulated in the agreement.