UNSMIL hails Libya’s Al-Sirraj approval of security arrangements implementation

The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) on Tuesday welcomed the new security arrangements in the capital Tripoli approved by Libyan Prime Minister Fayez Serraj.

UNSMIL welcomes the so-called Greater Tripoli Security Plan and looks forward to the start of implementation, the Mission said late Tuesday.

Serraj approved earlier Tuesday new security arrangements in Tripoli, which focus on forming joint police and army forces to secure the city.

During a meeting on Tuesday with military and field commanders of the city of Misurata, some 250 km east of Tripoli, the head of the UN Mission, Ghassan Salame, said the UN Mission plans to replace the armed groups in Tripoli with a joint force.

“We’re trying to replace the armed groups in Tripoli with a joint force. The capital is for all Libyans, and so any and every Libyan must be able to access it in safety,” Salame said.

Tripoli witnessed weeks of violence between forces allied with the government and other armed groups in Tripoli in August, which caused hundreds of casualties.

The spate of violent clashes ended after rival parties reached a cease-fire agreement.

The agreement required the warring parties not to attack public or private properties and refrain from inciting violence.

The cease-fire deal also agreed on the formation of a joint military force to secure southern Tripoli, and that the withdrawal of armed groups from conflict areas should be overseen by tribal mediators.