Gulsen Topcu
07 January 2020•Update: 07 January 2020
ALGIERS
Libya’s capital Tripoli is a "red line," Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said Monday.
"Algeria regards Tripoli as a red line and expects no one to cross it," Tebboune said following a meeting with Fayez al-Sarraj, the head of Libya’s UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA).
Algeria’s APS news agency reported that during his meeting with al-Sarraj and his delegation, which arrived in Algeria on an official visit for talks on the Libyan crisis, Tebboune called on the international community and particularly the UN Security Council to fulfill their responsibilities for achieving peace and stability in Libya.
Tebboune said that since the beginning of the Libyan crisis, Algeria has adopted the principle of "finding a political solution to protect the unity of the Libyan people and the territorial integrity of the country without foreign intervention."
He also condemned the weekend airstrike on a military school in Libya’s capital by forces loyal to renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar.
"The attack on the military school in Tripoli, which caused the deaths of 30 students, is considered a war crime," he said.
At least 30 people were killed and 33 injured in the airstrike Saturday on the school’s dormitory, which mainly targeted students.
Tebboune urged the conflicting parties in the country to end the tensions and called on foreign forces to stop offering them military support.
He also called for the resumption of the dialogue process in order to find a political solution to the crisis.
Al-Sarraj meanwhile thanked Tebboune for his "constructive approach" towards the developments in Libya.
Earlier, the GNA announced that the attack on the military school was carried out by a Chinese-made Wing Loong II drone belonging to the United Arab Emirates.
Since the ouster of late leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, two seats of power have emerged in Libya: one in eastern Libya supported mainly by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates and the other in Tripoli, which enjoys UN and international recognition.
* Writing by Jeyhun Aliyev from Ankara
