Libyan National Army Criticizes Morocco Talks

Libyan National Army (LNA) spokesman Ahmed al-Mismari. (AFP)
Libyan National Army (LNA) spokesman Ahmed al-Mismari. (AFP)
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Libyan National Army Criticizes Morocco Talks

Libyan National Army (LNA) spokesman Ahmed al-Mismari. (AFP)
Libyan National Army (LNA) spokesman Ahmed al-Mismari. (AFP)

Libyan National Army (LNA) spokesman Ahmed al-Mismari said the military has not officially commented on the ongoing dialogue between delegations from the High Council of State and east-based parliament in Morocco.

“We always seek security and peace,” he stressed.

Implicitly criticizing the talks, he added: “We are now in a whirlwind. I have received dozens of calls from activists and clan elders who are inquiring about the nature of these talks.”

He said it was unfortunate that the parliament did not clarify its goal.

Mismari also criticized the failure to appoint a new head to the United Nations Support Mission in Libya to succeed Ghassan Salame, speaking of a diplomatic dispute over the post.

Talal al-Mayhoub, head of the parliamentary defense and national security committee, had on Sunday said that the Morocco talks would be a “waste of time” if they did not take a decisive position on demanding the withdrawal of Turkish forces and foreign mercenaries and militias from Libya.

Parliament spokesman Abdullah Bhelig, however, said the parliament’s delegation in Morocco has been tasked with reaching understandings over “sovereign” positions. The talks will then pave the way for UN-sponsored political dialogue.

Meanwhile, head of the High Council of State, Khalid al-Mishri said the talks in Morocco are “unofficial consultations aimed at reaching means to start dialogue. They are not exactly the beginning of dialogue.”

The delegations are searching for ways to return to the point where dialogue was stopped, he explained.



Israeli Strike Kills One in Lebanon's South

Smoke billowing above the Lebanese village of Bint Jbeil during Israeli bombardment. (AFP file)
Smoke billowing above the Lebanese village of Bint Jbeil during Israeli bombardment. (AFP file)
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Israeli Strike Kills One in Lebanon's South

Smoke billowing above the Lebanese village of Bint Jbeil during Israeli bombardment. (AFP file)
Smoke billowing above the Lebanese village of Bint Jbeil during Israeli bombardment. (AFP file)

One person was killed on Wednesday in an Israeli strike on a village in southern Lebanon, the health ministry reported, the latest deadly attack despite a November ceasefire.

"The raid carried out by an enemy Israeli drone on the town of Beit Lif, in the Bint Jbeil district, resulted in one martyr and three people injured," read a statement from the ministry.

The official National News Agency said the strike targeted a house's courtyard in the town, adding that a missile hit the homeowner's car.

Israel has regularly bombed its northern neighbor since the November ceasefire that sought to end more than a year of hostilities with armed group Hezbollah including two months of full-blown war.

The agreement required Hezbollah fighters to withdraw north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the Israeli border, and dismantle all military infrastructure to its south.

It also required Israel to withdraw all of its troops from Lebanon, but it has kept them in five positions it deems "strategic".