Egypt urges Libyan institutions to unite, dissolve armed militias

CAIRO - 14 August 2019: Egypt hailed the humanitarian truce declared by Libyan parties on the occasion of Eid al-Adha, stressing that it is a positive step towards building confidence between Libyan parties, a Tuesday statement by Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Ahmed Hafez said.

Hafez's statement also reported that Egypt confirmed that putting an end to foreign interference, stopping support for armed militias and extremists, and eliminating terrorism and extremism are the only way to end chaos and restore security and stability in Libya.

The truce was reached following the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) call upon the parties on Aug. 8 to express their commitment to a humanitarian truce on the occasion of Eid al-Adha.

The statement also stressed that it is important that Libyan parties must reject foreign interference in Libya’s affairs and document violations to UN resolutions by countries that facilitate the smuggling of arms and terrorist fighters to Libya before the international community.

According to the statement, Egypt further calls upon the UNSMIL to cooperate more with the elected representatives of the Libyan people to develop the road map needed to get out of the current crisis and implement all the elements of the initiative approved by the Security Council in October 2017.

In the same context, Egypt condemned the recent terrorist bombing in Benghazi, expressing condolences to the victims’ families.