UN deputy envoy to Libya at Munich conference: Ceasefire hangs by thread & arms embargo is a ‘joke’

16 Feb, 2020 14:30

The fragile truce in Libya is at risk of falling apart, and efforts to stop the flood of weapons into the war-torn country have been completely ineffective, the deputy head of the UN mission to Libya warned on Sunday.

Stephanie Williams told attendees at the Munich Security Conference that the ceasefire between Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) and the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) is perilously close to collapsing. She added that an arms embargo put in place by the UN Security Council to prevent the flow of weapons into Libya “has become a joke.”

Noting that the economic situation in the country is also deteriorating, the UN official told attendees that they need to “step up,” and that there “needs to be accountability” for international parties involved in the conflict.

She was speaking after over a dozen world foreign ministers and members of international organizations held a meeting on Libya in Munich.