Libyan southern clans reach peace agreement in Italy
Several representatives of the tribes living in the south of Libya signed a peace agreement after over three days of secret negotiations in the Italian Interior Ministry, media reported Sunday.
According to the Italian La Stampa newspaper, Toubou and Awlad Sulaiman ethnic groups agreed to sign a peace treaty as a result of secret 72-hour talks that ended on Friday evening and were mediated by Italian Interior Minister Marco Minniti.
Sputnik wrote Sunday that the meeting was attended by over 60 clan leaders, including the head of the largest Tuareg tribe in the Libyan region of Fezzan as well as Deputy Prime Minister Ahmed Omar Maiteeq of Libya’s UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA).
In addition to the cessation of hostilities that had led to at least 500 people being killed in recent years, the Libyan tribes made commitments to combat illegal migration on the most vulnerable part of the route from Africa to Europe – in the south Libyan border, La Stampa was cited by Sputnik as saying.
“The Libyan border guard service will be active all along the 5,000 kilometers [3,106 miles] long south Libyan border. And in the north, migrant sea traffickers will be dealt with by the Libyan coast guard which was trained by Italian experts, and which will be equipped with 10 motor boats from April 30,” Minniti said, as quoted by La Stampa.
Minniti added that “to seal the southern Libyan border means to seal the southern border of Europe.”
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