On Wednesday, British Foreign Minister, Liz Truss received her Libyan counterpart Najla Al-Mangoush in London, where they discussed Libya’s upcoming elections.
The British Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Libya has promised to hold free, fair, and inclusive elections on 24 December. The talks also dealt with the immediate withdrawal of mercenaries and foreign forces.
British Minister of State for the Middle East and North Africa, James Cleverly praised the efforts made by the 5 + 5 Libyan Military Commission (JMC) in withdrawing all foreign forces from Libya.
“I welcome the efforts made by the Joint Military Commission 5+5 in signing an action plan for the removal of mercenaries, foreign fighters and foreign forces from Libya,” Cleverly tweeted.
He added that “this is an important step in the implementation of the Oct 2020 Ceasefire Agreement and UNSCR 2570 & 2571.”
On 8 October, the JMC signed a comprehensive Action Plan for the withdrawal of foreign forces from Libya. This will be the cornerstone for the “gradual, balanced, and sequenced process of the withdrawal of mercenaries, foreign fighters and foreign forces from Libyan territory.”
According to Sky News Arabia, the implementation of the plan starts in November.
The sources told Sky News Arabia that the plan includes four main points, the first of which is the withdrawal of foreign forces to agreed points in two cities, provided that they never leave their positions.
The second step includes deploying UN-observers to work on implementing the foreign forces’ withdrawal in a gradual and balanced manner. “Libya has already requested the United Nations and the Security Council to deploy the observers,” the sources revealed.
The third step is for the observers to monitor the actual number of foreign forces and mercenaries, and document them accurately.
“Finally, the mercenaries are to be deported from Libya in successive batches according to a timeline, which estimates say will end by 2023,” the sources concluded.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, welcomed the comprehensive Action Plan for the “gradual, balanced, and sequenced process of the withdrawal of mercenaries, and foreign fighters from Libyan territory.”