Landmines located in areas south of Tripoli have left more than 100 dead and injured, including many civilians, since the fighting ended at the gates of the capital, the United Nations Mission in Libya (Manul) said on Sunday.
Fighters of Marshal Khalifa Haftar, the strongman of eastern Libya, had to withdraw to their strongholds in the South and the East after the failure of their offensive on Tripoli, seat of the Union Government (GNA) recognized by the United Nations.
They were accused – by the GNA, the UN and the NGO Human Rights Watch – of leaving behind minefields in the southern outskirts of the capital, the scene of the fighting.
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“Mines and other explosive devices (IED) in or near the houses” made “more than 100 victims among the civilians and the personnel of demining” since the end of the clashes, at the beginning of June, affirmed the Manul in a statement, without specifying the share of wounded and dead.
Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, in Rome, October 26, 2018. (Credit. Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP)
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This text follows the meeting Saturday in Rome between Stephanie Williams, acting UN envoy to Libya, and the head of the GNA, Fayez al-Sarraj.
On this occasion, Ms. Williams said she was “very upset” by information concerning the presence of “new groups of mercenaries of different nationalities” on Libyan oil sites.
This presence “threatens to transform the ‘oil crescent’ into a combat zone”, a sector in the northeast with the main Libyan oil terminals and ports, she said.
Friday, the Libyan National Oil Company (NOC) denounced the presence of “Russian and foreign mercenaries” on the al-Charara field, one of the most important, in an area still controlled by Marshal Haftar.
In the grip of chaos since the fall of the regime of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has the most abundant oil reserves in Africa, but their exploitation is largely hampered by the current conflict between rival powers.
Libyan leader Marshall Khalifa Haftar, (center) after an international conference on Libya at the Elysée Palace in Paris on May 29, 2019. (Credit: AP / Francois Mori)
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The head of the GNA – in Rome for “personal reasons” according to the Italian media – also met on Saturday with Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.
“The solution (…) cannot be military”, it is necessary to privilege “the political way”, declared the GNA in a press release after this interview.
According to the GNA, the two officials also mentioned the possible return of Italian companies to Libya as well as the participation of Italian experts in mine clearance in the outskirts of Tripoli.
To date, all attempts to establish a lasting ceasefire have failed. The GNA is supported by Turkey, while the pro-Haftar are supported by the United Arab Emirates, Russia and Egypt.
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