Libya’s Neighbors Reiterate Rejection of Military Solution, Warn against Return of Foreign Fighters

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry (R) sits with his Algerian counterpart Abdelkader Messahel at Tahrir Palace in Cairo. AFP
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry (R) sits with his Algerian counterpart Abdelkader Messahel at Tahrir Palace in Cairo. AFP
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Libya’s Neighbors Reiterate Rejection of Military Solution, Warn against Return of Foreign Fighters

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry (R) sits with his Algerian counterpart Abdelkader Messahel at Tahrir Palace in Cairo. AFP
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry (R) sits with his Algerian counterpart Abdelkader Messahel at Tahrir Palace in Cairo. AFP

Tunisia and Algerian foreign ministers reiterated their rejection of any military solution in Libya, stressing their support for the UN efforts to resolve the Libyan crisis and achieve stability in the chaotic country since 2011 and warning against the return of foreign fighters from conflict zones.

Egyptian FM Sameh Shoukry, Tunisian FM Abdelkader Messahel and Algerian FM Khemaies Jhinaoui met in Cairo on Wednesday and discussed the situation in Libya and means of pushing the political solution forward after discussions to amend Skhirat Agreement reached dead end.

The FMs of the three countries also issued “The Cairo Declaration" and praised the efforts put by UN Envoy to Libya Ghassan Salama.

They urged all the political parties to show sufficient flexibility during the ongoing negotiations to amend the political agreement, warning in the same context of the seriousness of the continued deterioration of the security situation in Libya and its consequences that will affect the daily lives of citizens.

The FMs stressed the importance of continuing and supporting security coordination and exchange of information as well as strengthening cooperation among them in their fight against terrorism.

They reiterated the positions of their countries and the principles that lead their joint action to support efforts to resolve the Libyan crisis, first and foremost to preserve the unity and stability of the country and to adhere to dialogue and political agreement as the only basis for resolving the crisis.

The tripartite meeting is considered the first of its kind since Salama launched his roadmap to resolve Libyan crisis in light of stalled meetings that were held in Tunisia.

In this regard, Skhoukry said he agreed with his Algerian and Tunisian counterparts to reject any military option in Libya, adding that they discussed the threat imposed by the terrorist organizations on the national security of the three countries.

Jhinaoui, for his part, said during the joint press conference that Libya has become a refuge for a number of terrorist organizations, pointing out the importance of finding a peaceful solution to end the crisis.

While Messahel said that the three countries agree when it comes to the Libyan crisis, "and we have exchanged views on how to help the Libyans reach a final solution to end the crisis.”

Addressing the return of foreign fighters, Messahel said that coordination should take place among regional countries to face the threat of their return from the conflict zones, noting that regional countries need Libya to be stable.

Notably, the three diplomats met previously twice over Libya following Tunisia’s announcement of a comprehensive political settlement in Libya on February 20. The first meeting was held in Algeria on June 5 and 6 while the other was held in September on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.



UN: More than 1.3 Million Return to Homes in Sudan

Members of army walks near a destroyed military vehicle and bombed buildings, as Sudan's army retakes ground and some displaced residents return to ravaged capital in the state of Khartoum Sudan March 26, 2025. (Reuters)
Members of army walks near a destroyed military vehicle and bombed buildings, as Sudan's army retakes ground and some displaced residents return to ravaged capital in the state of Khartoum Sudan March 26, 2025. (Reuters)
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UN: More than 1.3 Million Return to Homes in Sudan

Members of army walks near a destroyed military vehicle and bombed buildings, as Sudan's army retakes ground and some displaced residents return to ravaged capital in the state of Khartoum Sudan March 26, 2025. (Reuters)
Members of army walks near a destroyed military vehicle and bombed buildings, as Sudan's army retakes ground and some displaced residents return to ravaged capital in the state of Khartoum Sudan March 26, 2025. (Reuters)

More than 1.3 million people who fled the fighting in Sudan have headed home, the United Nations said Friday, pleading for greater international aid to help returnees rebuild shattered lives.

Over a million internally displaced people (IDPs) have returned to their homes in recent months, UN agencies said.

A further 320,000 refugees have crossed back into Sudan this year, mainly from neighboring Egypt and South Sudan.

While fighting has subsided in the "pockets of relative safety" that people are beginning to return to, the situation remains highly precarious, the UN said.

Since April 2023, Sudan has been torn apart by a power struggle between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, commander of the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The fighting has killed tens of thousands.

The RSF lost control of the capital, Khartoum, in March and the regular army now controls Sudan's center, north and east.

In a joint statement, the UN's IOM migration agency, UNHCR refugee agency and UNDP development agency called for an urgent increase in financial support to pay for the recovery as people begin to return, with humanitarian operations "massively underfunded".

Sudan has 10 million IDPs, including 7.7 million forced from their homes by the current conflict, they said.

More than four million have sought refuge in neighboring countries.

- 'Living nightmare' -

Sudan is "the largest humanitarian catastrophe facing our world and also the least remembered", the IOM's regional director Othman Belbeisi, speaking from Port Sudan, told a media briefing in Geneva.

He said 71 percent of returns had been to Al-Jazira state, with eight percent to Khartoum.

Other returnees were mostly heading for Sennar state.

Both Al-Jazira and Sennar are located southeast of the capital.

"We expect 2.1 million to return to Khartoum by the end of this year but this will depend on many factors, especially the security situation and the ability to restore services," Belbeisi said.

With the RSF holding nearly all of the western Darfur region, Kordofan in the south has become the war's main battleground in recent weeks.

He said the "vicious, horrifying civil war continues to take lives with impunity", imploring the warring factions to put down their guns.

"The war has unleashed hell for millions and millions of ordinary people," he said.

"Sudan is a living nightmare. The violence needs to stop."

- 'Massive' UXO contamination -

After visiting Khartoum and the Egyptian border, Mamadou Dian Balde, the UNHCR's regional refugee coordinator for the Sudan crisis, said people were coming back to destroyed public infrastructure, making rebuilding their lives extremely challenging.

Those returning from Egypt were typically coming back "empty handed", he said, speaking from Nairobi.

Luca Renda, UNDP's resident representative in Sudan, warned of further cholera outbreaks in Khartoum if broken services were not restored.

"What we need is for the international community to support us," he said.

Renda said around 1,700 wells needed rehabilitating, while at least six Khartoum hospitals and at least 35 schools needed urgent repairs.

He also sounded the alarm on the "massive" amount of unexploded ordnance littering the city and the need for decontamination.

He said anti-personnel mines had also been found in at least five locations in Khartoum.

"It will take years to fully decontaminate the city," he said, speaking from Port Sudan.