UN Security Council discusses concerns over spread of Libya's foreign fighters
The killing of Chad's leader has ignited fears over the potential spread of violent mercenaries outside of Libya.
Member states of the United Nations Security Council on Thursday met to discuss concerns over the potential spread of thousands of foreign fighters in Libya’s civil war.
The meeting was called by representatives from Kenya, Tunisia and Niger in response to the killing of Chad’s president by rebels based across that country’s northern border in Libya. Details of the closed session were reported by AFP.
Libya’s conflict is approaching potential resolution as the Security Council has moved to enshrine a nationwide cease-fire and backed preliminary plans for steps toward national reconciliation after 10 years of civil war.
But there is no sign that foreign forces are leaving Libya in significant numbers despite a January deadline included in last year’s cease-fire agreement. More than 10,000 foreign soldiers and mercenaries are present in the conflict, which heated up again in 2019 as eastern Libya’s rogue general Khalifa Hifter launched a Russia-backed offensive against Libya’s UN-backed western government based in Tripoli.
