Libya port attacks continue

At the UN headquarters in Geneva, Ghassan Salamé, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Libya, confirmed an attack on 18 February at Libya’s Port of Tripoli, where a vessel carrying weapons from Turkey was bombed. He warned that continued attacks in the country are thwarting peace negotiations.

“As long as these violations are frequent, it’s very, very hard to think of quiet negotiations between the two parties on any one of the three tracks we are trying to push forward.”

Since last April, the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA), based in Tripoli, has been engaged in conflict with the self-styled Libyan National Army.

Mr Salamé is facilitating discussions of the parties to the Libyan Joint Military Commission, or the 5+5 talks.

However, Aljazeera reported on 19 February that GNA said it was suspending its participation in ceasefire negotiations following the attack.

In October 2017, Port Strategy reported that Libya’s Benghazi port had re-opened following a three-year closure due to rival faction fighting in the city. The European Union imposed conflict-related sanctions against six ports in Libya in June 2011, which it lifted in September 2011.

The current conflict comes as a project to build the Port of Susah is underway in Libya.