On Sunday, Deputy Head of Libya’s Presidential Council, Mousa Al-Koni stressed that the proliferation of weapons outside the law, constitutes a major burden on the Libyan state, and the wider region.
During his participation at a workshop on “State Monopoly On Weapons And Their Use In Accordance With Law,” Al-Koni called for support for the army, police, and security agencies. As well as the need for a mechanism to issue laws regulating the collection of weapons.
The workshop was organized by the Joint Operations Center in Greater Tripoli, in the presence of the center’s commander, Major General Hussein Ramadan and a number of military and security Heads.
A representative of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) also attended the workshop. It discussed solutions for collecting weapons under the rule of law, obstructive factors, and factors helping to collect them.
Al-Koni also called for halting the entry of weapons into Libyan territory outside the legal channels, returning them to the state, and using them in accordance with the law.
Last week, Al-Koni met with the European Union’s Special Representative for the Sahel, Emanuela Del Re, in Brussels. The two sides shared their “common deep concern regarding the spread of armed groups in Libya.” This is amid regional and international calls for the withdrawal of mercenaries and foreign fighters, especially before the Presidential elections on 24 December.
“We also discussed issues related to Mali, instability, terrorism, armed groups, and the problem of the absence of a government,” she added.
The two also agreed on the need for development projects that would make young people “more resilient and less inclined to succumb to the temptations of armed groups. Libya’s need is not only for financial support, but also for political support.”
Libya fell into chaos in 2011 after a NATO-backed uprising, which toppled long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), the number of mercenaries in Libya is estimated at 23,000 fighters, primarily from Libya’s southern neighbours, and Syrians.