Libyan Government Orders All Military Forces to Immediately Cease Fire and All Combat Operations

A Libyan government statement on Friday ordered an immediate cease-fire for all military forces, combat operations in the war-torn country.

“Cease-fire requires demilitarization of the Sirte and Jufra regions with security arrangements,” the statement said.

The government also confirmed in the statement that its call for presidential, parliamentary elections in March is still valid.

Following the statement, Aguila Saleh, speaker of pro-Haftar Libyan parliament, also called on all parties for immediate cease-fire in Libya.

The truce will make Sirte the temporary seat of new Presidential Council that will be guarded by joint police forces, Saleh added.

The cease-fire calls of the both sides have been welcomed by the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), as the mission shared a tweet on



the issue saying that the move will "activate the political process."

On Wednesday, it was announced that Khalid al-Mishri, head of Libya's High State Council, has agreed to meet Saleh in Morocco.

Libya has been torn by civil war since the ouster of late dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. The Government of National Accord (GNA) was founded in 2015 under an U.N.-led agreement, but efforts for a long-term political settlement failed due to a military offensive by forces loyal to Haftar.

The U.N. recognizes the government headed by premier Fayez Sarraj as the country's legitimate authority, as Tripoli has battled Haftar's militias since April 2019 in a conflict that has claimed thousands of lives.

Turkey continues to support the internationally recognized government, while Haftar has been backed by Russia, France, Egypt and the UAE.