Speaking to AFP, Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso revealed that under the current circumstances and amid the worldwide spread of the coronavirus, the Libyan Reconciliation conference, which was scheduled to take place next July, will not be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital.
The Congolese president regretted the failure of the ceasefire agreement in Libya. He called, via the African Union’s High-level Committee on Libya that he chairs, upon the parties to the conflict to alleviate the suffering of the Libyan people.
Nguesso described the situation in Libya as “unfortunate and dramatic” in light of the failure of the ceasefire hopes.
Referring to the Libyan Reconciliation conference, the President pledged to continue the African Union’s efforts to achieve security in Libya through a Libyan political solution because he recognises that the military conflict in Libya will not solve the Libyan crisis.
Earlier last month, the head of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki, stated that the arrangements for holding the Libyan National Reconciliation Conference were not on the Union’s agenda at present due to the spread of coronavirus on the African continent, pointing out that “all diplomatic mediations in Libya are currently frozen.”
Libya has been mired in chaos since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising that killed longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
Turkey is implementing a military deployment to Libya to shore up the UN-backed government while Haftar is backed by Egypt, Russia, and the United Arab Emirates.
