The Libyan National Army (LNA) announced Saturday accepting a truce in Tripoli during Eid al-Adha.
In statements by LNA spokesperson Ahmed al-Mismari, he said General Commander Khalifa Haftar announced halting all violence and military escalations Saturday-Monday.
Mismari added that the LNA will keep its right to respond to any threat at any time. He also demanded all Libyan factions to understand the humanitarian and social reasons behind the LNA’s decision.
Despite calling for the truce since Tuesday, the United Nations Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) received no official responses until Friday night.
Nearly by 11 p.m. on Friday, head of the Presidency Council (PC) Faiez al-Sarraj issued a statement accepting the proposed truce.
The PC, however, said the U.N. should guarantee that no military attacks will take place during the truce to achieve military progress, and prohibit all warplane activities in the country.
The PC demanded that the truce not be used move any military columns or make any military build-ups.
Later on Saturday, UNSMIL isuued a statement expressing its regret that it did not receive an approval from all related parties on truce.
“While UNSMIL regrets that it did not receive what it was hoping for, for the sake of the Libyan people and their interests, it calls on all parties to respect the sanctity of the Eid and to allow the Libyan people to celebrate this occasion and permit the safe return of the pilgrims to the country” UNSMIL stated in its statement.
