UN Mission in Libya Concerned about Alleged Chemical Weapons Use in Tripoli

Arab World

April 24th, 7:28am

Cairo - Jamal Jawhar

Stephanie Williams, acting head of UNSMIL, addresses the media after follow-up meeting on Libya on February 16, 2020 in Munich, Germany. (Anadolu Agency)

Stephanie Williams, acting head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), has expressed her grave concern over reports about the use of chemical weapons in the capital, Tripoli. “We have also referred this to the panel of experts who will be looking into it. So again, this is the very, very concerning report,” she told a virtual press briefing. On the developments on the ground, she said the humanitarian truce between the Libyan National Army (LNA) and Government of National Accord (GNA) is being violated repeatedly. “There is a truce in name only. You cannot really call it a truce; you cannot call it a ceasefire,” she remarked. “We've had 70 violations just in the last week.” “Since January 12th to this day, we’ve had over 850 violations of that truce. And we have a number of violations of the truce that was subsequently agreed to by the parties in responding to the call for a truce – a humanitarian truce – for the COVID crisis,” she added. Williams has been the head of the UNSMIL since March, succeeding Ghassan Salame, who resigned on medical grounds. Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Muslims to “focus on our common enemy — the virus,” and repeated an earlier appeal for an immediate ceasefire for all conflicts. He made his call with the advent of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, which began on Friday. "I repeat that appeal today, recalling the words of the Holy Quran: 'and if they incline to peace, then incline to it’,” Guterres said. Ramadan is also about supporting the most vulnerable, he noted. "I thank governments and people throughout the Muslim world who live by their faith, supporting those fleeing conflict in the best Islamic tradition of hospitality and generosity -- a remarkable lesson in this world where so many doors have been closed to those in need of protection, even before COVID-19."

from Asharq AL-awsat https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2250121/un-mission-libya-concerned-about-alleged-chemical-weapons-use-tripoli