01 September 2022; MEMO: India has accused Turkiye of "blatant disregard" of United Nations security resolutions in Libya, amid renewed fighting in the country between forces backing rival prime ministers.
Towards the end of the third week of August, the Libyan capital, Tripoli, saw intense clashes between militias fighting for opposing sides in the country, after forces backing the eastern-based Premier, Fathi Bashagha, forcefully entered the city and tried pushing back forces fighting under the interim Prime Minister, Abdul Hamid Dbeibah.
The fighting – which resulted in the deaths of at least dozens and the wounding of hundreds, so far – has ignited fears of a renewed civil war in the country, a year after the new unified Libyan government was established, following almost a decade of conflict.
On Tuesday last week, the UN Security Council (UNSC) held a briefing in New York, in which the organisation's officials and member states expressed concern over the revived fighting.
Ruchira Kamboj, India's Permanent Representative to the UN, – and also the Chair of the Council's panel on Libya sanctions – issued a statement in her national capacity that reiterated the need for a complete withdrawal of foreign forces and mercenaries from Libya, an aim which has so far had no "tangible progress".
"Continued presence of foreign forces and mercenaries is detrimental to the peace and stability of the country and the region. There have been blatant violations of the arms embargo in Libya," she stated.
Kamboj also quoted a report by the UN Panel of Experts of the Libya Sanctions Committee, published in May this year, as apparently proving that Turkiye violated UNSC resolution 1970 by providing military training and assistance to the forces affiliated with the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNU).
She quoted the report as stating that UN experts further "noted the continuous presence of Turkish backed Syrian fighters in the Government of National Unity Affiliated Forces military camps in Tripoli".
Such actions meant that Turkiye was guilty of "blatant disregard" for UNSC resolutions, according to Kamboj, calling it a cause for serious concern. She stated that they were also a violation of the ceasefire agreement struck by opposing sides in Libya in 2020, a violation which she says added to the "enduring political stalemate".
The Indian representative reiterated that "the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Libya must be safeguarded. The political process needs to be fully Libyan-led and Libyan-owned with no imposition or external interference".
Other countries were also identified by the panel of experts as having violated the arms embargo, including Russia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt, which all supported the eastern-based Libyan forces during the previous conflict.
