UN Chief Condemns 'Unprecedented' Foreign Interference in Libya

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. (Getty Images)
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. (Getty Images)
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UN Chief Condemns 'Unprecedented' Foreign Interference in Libya

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. (Getty Images)
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. (Getty Images)

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Wednesday that foreign interference in the Libya conflict has reached "unprecedented levels," with sophisticated equipment and mercenaries involved in the fighting.

Guterres denounced the situation during a ministers-level UN Security Council video conference, expressing particular concern about the military forces massing around the city of Sirte, halfway between Tripoli in the west and Benghazi in the east.

"The conflict has entered a new phase with foreign interference reaching unprecedented levels, including in the delivery of sophisticated equipment and the number of mercenaries involved in the fighting," he said.

Forces loyal to the Government of National Accord (GNA), "with significant external support, continued their advance eastward" and are 25 kilometers (15 miles) west of Sirte, Guterres said.

GNA units had tried twice before to seize the city, he noted.

The government, with Turkey's backing, is battling forces loyal to the Libyan National Army, commanded by Khalifa Haftar.

"We are very concerned about the alarming military build-up around the city, and the high-level of direct foreign interference in the conflict in violation of the UN arms embargo, UN Security Council resolutions, and commitments made by member states in Berlin" in January, Guterres said.

He did not name any particular countries.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, whose country holds the rotating Security Council presidency, slammed violations of the arms embargo in place for Libya since 2011.

"While the entire world closed its borders, ships, planes and trucks with weapons and mercenaries continued to arrive in Libyan cities," he said.

His counterpart from Niger, Kalla Ankourao, joined many others in echoing Guterres' comments.

"Libya does not need more weapons, does not need mercenaries" but rather "reconciliation," Ankourao said.

Guterres said UN-led talks with military leaders from both sides were focused on the departure of foreign mercenaries, counter-terrorism cooperation, "disarmament and demobilization of armed groups throughout Libya, and modalities for a possible ceasefire mechanism."

He also raised the possibility of creating a demilitarized zone to be controlled by the UN mission in Libya.

The presence in Libya of Russian and Syrian mercenaries has been raised as problematic since the start of the year.

Guterres said the latest fighting in southern Tripoli and the Tarhouna region had forced nearly 30,000 people to flee the violence, bringing the total of internally displaced people in Libya to more than 400,000.



Trump Says Gaza Ceasefire Possible this Week or Next

US President Donald Trump listens to opening remarks, on the day he hosts a lunch for African representatives of Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., US, July 9, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
US President Donald Trump listens to opening remarks, on the day he hosts a lunch for African representatives of Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., US, July 9, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
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Trump Says Gaza Ceasefire Possible this Week or Next

US President Donald Trump listens to opening remarks, on the day he hosts a lunch for African representatives of Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., US, July 9, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
US President Donald Trump listens to opening remarks, on the day he hosts a lunch for African representatives of Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., US, July 9, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

US President Donald Trump said there is a "very good chance" of a ceasefire in Gaza this week or next, after meeting Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday for the second time in two days to discuss the situation.

"We have a chance this week or next week," Trump told reporters.

Israel's military chief said on Wednesday "conditions have been created" for the advancement of a hostage release deal in Gaza, as indirect negotiations were under way between Israel and Hamas.

"We have achieved many significant results, we have caused great damage to the governance and military capabilities of Hamas," armed forces chief Eyal Zamir said in a televised speech.

"Thanks to the operational power that we have demonstrated, the conditions have been created to advance a deal to release the hostages."

Netanyahu said on Wednesday that his meeting with Trump focused on freeing the hostages held in Gaza, and stressed his determination to "eliminate" the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas.