Joint Libyan military committee resumes talks: UN

GENEVA

The United Nations on Thursday announced the resumption of the talks of joint Libyan military committee, representing both the UN-recognized government and the eastern Libyan forces, for a permanent cease-fire in the war-weary country.

The joint military commission resumed the talks in Geneva after they were halted on Wednesday.

"I confirm today that the 5+5 format military committee meetings in Geneva have resumed," Jean El-Alam, a spokesman for the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), told Anadolu Agency

He could not predict how long the meetings will last, and said, "As you know, everything is possible in negotiations."

Following an attack on the Port of Tripoli, Libya's Government of National Accord (GNA) said late Tuesday it was withdrawing from the UN-hosted military committee talks in Geneva until a determined stance was taken against the violations by warlord Khalifa Haftar’s forces.

Earlier Tuesday, a joint military commission representing Libya's UN-recognized government GNA and Haftar’s forces began a second round of talks for a possible solution, but then the cease-fire was again violated due to Haftar’s forces attacking the port.

The council said the port is vitally important for people to receive necessities such as food and medicine, accusing Haftar’s forces of committing war crimes.

The council also stressed that if the international community really wants stability in Libya, the cease-fire decisions must be implemented.

It said that while the Libyan capital is not safe and the people who want to return their homes cannot do so, talk of a permanent cease-fire was meaningless.

The GNA's Ports Directorate said Haftar’s forces struck the Port of Tripoli with missiles on Tuesday during the cease-fire negotiations.

Since the ouster of late ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, two seats of power have emerged in Libya: Haftar in eastern Libya supported mainly by Egypt and United Arab Emirates, and GNA in Tripoli, which enjoys the UN and international recognition.

Libya's legitimate government has been under attack by Haftar’s forces since last April, and more than 1,000 people have been killed in the violence.

UNSMIL, which has made great efforts to resume committee meetings, strongly condemned the attack in a written statement Wednesday.