Hacer Baser
19 January 2020•Update: 19 January 2020
TRIPOLI, Libya
The UN-recognized government in Libya on Sunday accused forces of warlord Khalifa Haftar of violating a week-old cease-fire.
Mohammed Kanunu, spokesman for the Government of National Accord (GNA), said Haftar’s forces had again violated the cease-fire which started early last Sunday by firing on Al-Khallatat, a region south of the capital Tripoli, where the GNA is based.
On Jan. 12, the warring sides in the Libyan conflict announced a cease-fire in response to a joint call by Turkish and Russian leaders.
But last Monday talks for a permanent cease-fire deal ended without an agreement after Haftar left Moscow without signing a deal.
The attack took place on the eve of a conference in Berlin Sunday to achieve a lasting cease-fire and a political solution to the conflict.
Leaders attending the conference, co-hosted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, include Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.
Since the ouster of late ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, two seats of power have emerged in Libya: one in eastern Libya supported mainly by Egypt and the UAE, and the other in Tripoli, which enjoys UN and international recognition.
