Foreign fighters are ‘shocking violation of Libyan sovereignty’
There are at least 20,000 foreign fighters and mercenaries in Libya, with 10 military bases partially covered by foreign forces, the UN’s acting envoy for the country has warned.
Stephanie Williams told an online meeting of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum on Wednesday that the presence of the forces posed a serious crisis for Libya.
“That is a shocking violation of Libyan sovereignty. You may believe that these foreigners are here as your guests, but they are now occupying your house. This a blatant violation of the arms embargo,” she said.
The dialogue forum, which includes dozens of representatives and is supported by the UN mission in Libya has been trying to get warring parties to agree on a mechanism that would establish a transitional administration to lead the country to elections.
Ms Williams warned that the declining socioeconomic conditions meant that 1.3 million people of Libya’s more than 6.8 million would require humanitarian assistance in January.
She cited a shortage of cash in circulation, a near-collapse of the electricity infrastructure and a crisis of corruption that were difficult to resolve.
She said the only way to forward was through a political dialogue that should not be about sharing power “but sharing responsibility for future generations”.
