An official in the EU announced, on Saturday, the Union’s readiness to facilitate the withdrawal of mercenaries and foreign fighters from Libya, through a permanent platform for cooperation in Africa, between the EU missions in Libya, Niger, Mali and Mauritania, according to the Italian “Nova” news agency.
The head of the EU Border Assistance Mission in Libya (EUPAM), Natalia Chia, said that the Military Committee (5 + 5), consisting of 5 officers from the Government of National Unity, and the same number from the Libyan National Army, presented a plan to withdraw mercenaries starting from the coastal areas.
During her participation in the dialogues of the Mediterranean Forum, which concludes on Saturday in the Italian capital, Rome, Chia revealed that “the committee requested the support of the EU, and we are working on the regional coordination of missions such as those in Libya, Mali, Niger and Chad.”
Chia stressed that the EU would try “to do everything in its power, in terms of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration.”
Last October, the two military delegations of the two sides of the conflict agreed on a “comprehensive plan of action” to remove mercenaries and foreign forces from the country.
Last November, military sources revealed that 300 “mercenaries and foreign fighters” operating in areas controlled by the LNA, will be “exited as a first batch” at the request of France.
In a related context, the former UN envoy to Libya, Stephanie Williams, stressed, on Saturday, that Libya is a priority for the current US administration of President Joe Biden, stressing the US administration’s support for elections scheduled for December 24.
Williams said that “It is a priority for the US, as evidenced by the dual mission of Ambassador and Envoy Richard Norland, and the participation of Vice President Kamala Harris in the forum.”
A political dialogue that took place between the Libyan parties under the auspices of the UN in Geneva, last February, led to the formation of a unified executive political authority, whose mission is to prepare for the presidential and parliamentary elections, which were set respectively in December and next January.
