The U.N. Security Council has called for a truce in conflict-afflicted Libya for the upcoming Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha.
In a Tuesday press statement, the Security Council welcomed and expressed support for the call of Ghassan Salame, the U.N. secretary-general’s special representative for Libya, for a truce between the warring parties as Eid al-Adha, which falls on Sunday, is imminent.
Salame made the call as part of his plan to end the Libyan conflict during his briefing to the council a week ago.
He also suggested a high-level meeting of concerned countries to end the hostilities and implement the U.N. arms embargo, as well as a meeting of leading and influential personalities from Libya to agree on a way forward.
Moreover, members of the Security Council welcomed a truce between the parties to be declared for Eid al-Adha.
In the statement, the council said “this truce should be accompanied by confidence-building measures between the parties.”
It also reaffirmed its previous appeals, in particular the call on all parties to commit to a ceasefire and rapidly to return to U.N.-mediated political process.
“Lasting peace and stability in Libya, including an end to the worsening humanitarian crisis, will come only through a political solution,” the statement said.
Libya has been struggling to make a democratic transition amid insecurity and chaos ever since the fall of former leader Muammar Qaddafi’s regime in 2011.
