CEASEFIRE DEAL OF LIBYA

Published by: Kamalini Kumar

Introduction

War has always been the greatest threat to human settlement from times immemorial. War was a very ancient practice which is still used to get hold of a place or to express their dominance. War in Libya was very devastating and has led to a loss of life, property and the people live with fear every day. The First Libyan civil war started in 2011 and the second Libyan civil war started in the year 2014. The war is still going on and it is important to note that there is no proper government in Libya till now. One of the recent news which gave optimism to the citizens of Libya is the ceasefire deal. Ceasefire agreements or deals are entered between both the parties of war to stop the war at least for a transitory period. This article will deal with the ceasefire deal and the history behind the war. This article will also provide insights into the role of the United Nations in the deal.

Background

Ø The country was ruled by Muammar Gadaffi till the year 2011.

Ø He came to power after overturning the monarchy in 1969, thus the country was ruled by him for nearly forty years after he proclaimed the New Libyan Republic after overturning the monarchy.

Ø Various wars were going on in the areas of Arab spring and there was a firs war against the dictatorial rule of Gadaffi in the year 2011.

Ø The main issues arose when Gadaffi was overthrown in the year 2011 and there was an intervention of NATO in the same year.

Ø Government of National Accord who had the support of the United Nations was brought to develop democracy but it was a failure.

Ø The two main parties who are currently fighting are Government of National Accord which is led by the Prime minister and Libyan National Army. There are also other small terrorist groups.

Factions in Libya

Government of National Accord: This is a government which was formed as an interim measure under the Libyan Political Agreement. The Libyan Political agreement was signed on 17.12.2015. This agreement was the main reason for the formation of GNA and it considered the Government of National Accord as a single executive power in the country. Government of National Accord is led by Prime Minister Fayez- Al- Saraj. There are seventeen ministers in the cabinet. The Libyan House of Representatives withdrew their support for GNA in the year 2016 due to their issues with General National Congress. Since the support of Libyan House of Representatives was the main reason for the proper functioning of GNA, this withdrawal of support came as a major blow.

Libyan National Army: The Libyan National Army was headed by Khalifa Haftar who was made the head on the year 2015. They are a part of the country’s military forces. In the ongoing Civil War, the LNA is loyal to a certain part of the Libyan House of Representatives that meets in Tobruk; they are against the Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries and Islamic State in Libya.

Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries: They are also an important part of the country’s war. This force is a military coalition which is formed in the year 2014. They have pledged to support the Government of National Accord.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Libya: They are Islamic militant group which has three active branches. They have conducted a lot of attacks and killings which was reported by various organizations and journals like the Wall Street Journal. It was also found out there were a lot of foreign members, especially from certain countries of Africa in this organization.

Joint Military Commission

There was a famous international follow up committee which was part of the Libyan Peace Plan. The ceasefire deal and the committee was a part of the three-point peace plan. The 5+5 Joint Military Commission where members of both the party were made part of the committee. The main role of the commission is to assess the development of peace measures in the country. The military track of the intra-Libyan negotiations began on February with the 5+5 Libyan Joint Military Commission meeting which was held in Geneva, which was between 5 senior military officers selected by the GNA and 5 members selected by the LNA leader.[1] This committee is considered to be part of the military track. The current head of Libyan Joint Military commission (the official name for the 5+5 committee) is Ahmed Abu Shahma. The two sides did not meet face to face and it was decided in the first round of meeting that the committee will be involved in the monitoring of ceasefire agreement.

Ceasefire Deal

The ceasefire deal is an important process in the Libyan Peace Plan The Joint Military Commission was also involved in the process. The main aim is to stop the war for some time and to prevent death and violence in the Country. The Cairo declaration was proposed by Egypt for the ceasefire of Second Libyan warfare. Various countries involved have also evacuated their troops back.

The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the journalists that

“I congratulate the parties for putting the interest of their nation ahead of their differences. Too many people have suffered for too long. Too many men, women and children have died as a result of the conflict”[2]

He considers this deal as “a fundamental step toward peace and stability in Libya.”

CONCLUSION

The formulated ceasefire deal is a very important aspect of the Libyan peace process. This must bring the end to people’s suffering. There was a lot of reported death and displacements. The oil resources have also been plundered and the economy is in a very bad state. This deal will help in the recovery in all the aspects. War will always have a lot of ill effects and it would have been better if the deal was formulated before. The officials hope it will bring a peaceful and safe future”.

Footnotes:

[1]The Libyan Peace Process available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libyan_peace_process [2] UN News”UN salutes new Libya ceasefire agreement that points to ‘a better, safer, and more peaceful future’ available at https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/10/1076012

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

1. www. Guardian.com

2. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

3. Indian express

4. United Nations Official website

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