The UN regretted Wednesday that its planes were "prevented" from landing in Libya by forces loyal to Marshal Khalifa Haftar, who regularly target the area of Tripoli's only functional airport, stressing that this hampered humanitarian efforts in this country. war.
"The UN in Libya regrets that its regular flights, which transport its personnel to and from Libya, are not authorized by the ANL (army self-proclaimed by Haftar) to land in Libya," said the UN mission. in Libya (Manul) in a press release. The UN mission, the majority of whose staff are based in Tunis, said that " this practice has taken place several times in recent weeks" .
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Manul spokesman Jean Alam told AFP that "the UN does not receive security guarantees" from pro-Haftar so that its planes can land in western Libya. Mitiga Airport, the only operational airport in Tripoli, is regularly closed due to gunfire or threats of gunfire attributed by the UN-recognized Union Government (GNA) to pro-Haftar forces.
The UN has said that "preventing its planes from flying to and from Libya would seriously hamper its humanitarian and good offices efforts ," including " to provide much-needed humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable civilians affected by the conflict ” .
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Libya, which has the most abundant oil reserves in Africa, has been plunged into chaos since the fall of the Gaddafi regime after a popular revolt in 2011. Since last April, fighting has opposed the gates of Tripoli (west). GNA troops in the forces of Marshal Haftar, the strong man of eastern Libya who launched an offensive to conquer the capital. A truce was struck on January 12, and promises were made at an international conference in Berlin on January 19 to end the interference, encourage negotiations and respect the arms embargo. Sporadic fighting nevertheless continues to take place daily near Tripoli and arms continue to pour into the country.