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United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on all foreign troops and mercenaries to leave war-torn Libya in a meeting with the country’s new leader, his spokesman said on Tuesday.
Guterres “met separately with the President of the Presidency Council-designate, Mr. Mohammad Younes Menfi, and the Prime Minister-designate of the State of Libya, Mr. Abdul Hamid Mohammed Dbeibah,” said the spokesman for the ‘UN Stéphane Dujarric.
“In his appeals, the secretary general underlined the UN support for the elections in Libya, the monitoring of the ceasefire and the need for the withdrawal of foreign forces,” he said.
In December, around 20,000 foreign soldiers and mercenaries were deployed in Libya, according to the UN. When asked if the world body noticed an early withdrawal of foreign forces, Dujarric said the UN was not aware of a withdrawal.
“I have not heard any update on the departure of foreign troops. We want that to happen, obviously as soon as possible,” he said.
Guterres congratulated Menfi and Dbeibah on their new appointments and “stressed the importance of ensuring that the new executive branch works towards holding national elections on December 24, 2021”.
Dujarric said the three agreed on the need for foreign troops to leave the country as part of a ceasefire agreement.
Libya has been plunged into a protracted civil war since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
The country has been divided in recent years between a Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli and an administration based in the east, led by strongman Khalifa Haftar.
A new interim executive was chosen on February 5 by the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum in Switzerland, made up of 75 participants selected by the UN to represent a broad cross section of society.
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