Libyan Rivals Agree to Further Military Talks, Says UN

A Libyan street vendor sells corn on the roadside by the waterfront promenade in the eastern port city of Benghazi, June 22, 2020. (AFP)
A Libyan street vendor sells corn on the roadside by the waterfront promenade in the eastern port city of Benghazi, June 22, 2020. (AFP)
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Libyan Rivals Agree to Further Military Talks, Says UN

A Libyan street vendor sells corn on the roadside by the waterfront promenade in the eastern port city of Benghazi, June 22, 2020. (AFP)
A Libyan street vendor sells corn on the roadside by the waterfront promenade in the eastern port city of Benghazi, June 22, 2020. (AFP)

Libya’s warring sides have agreed to resume military talks next week after meeting in Egypt, the United Nations mission said, adding it hoped the step would pave the way towards a lasting ceasefire.

The Government of National Accord (GNA) in June turned back a 14-month assault on the capital Tripoli by the eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) and the two are now dug in along a front line near Sirte.

The UN mission said the Egypt talks addressed confidence-building measures, security arrangements and the role of the Petroleum Facilities Guard, which is supposed to protect energy infrastructure but is often made up of local groups with their own agendas.

It said recommendations including prisoner swaps and releases, and expediting the reopening of air and land transport links, would be presented to military delegations.

The UN-led process has run in parallel with other tracks held by factions within both the GNA and LNA and between outside powers involved in the conflict.

The UN has accused outside countries, including those who have formally backed its ceasefire process, of breaking an arms embargo to supply the sides with weapons and fighters.



Tunisians Protest Against President as Jailed Politicians Begin Hunger Strike

Figures detained on conspiracy charges in Tunisia - ( Ghazi Chaouachi official social media page)
Figures detained on conspiracy charges in Tunisia - ( Ghazi Chaouachi official social media page)
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Tunisians Protest Against President as Jailed Politicians Begin Hunger Strike

Figures detained on conspiracy charges in Tunisia - ( Ghazi Chaouachi official social media page)
Figures detained on conspiracy charges in Tunisia - ( Ghazi Chaouachi official social media page)

Hundreds of Tunisians staged two protest rallies on Wednesday against what they say is the authoritarian rule of President Kais Saied and demanded the release of political prisoners, while six detained opposition figures held a hunger strike.

Saied seized extra powers in 2021 when he shut down the elected parliament and moved to rule by decree before assuming authority over the judiciary. The opposition described his move as a coup, Reuters reported.

Supporters of the opposition Free Constitutional Party gathered in the capital Tunis to demand the release of their detained leader Abir Moussi. They chanted slogans such as "Saied, dictator, your turn has come," and "Free Abir".

"What is happening is true tyranny, no freedom for the opposition, no freedom for the media. Any word can send you to prison," one protester, Hayat Ayari, told Reuters.

Hundreds of supporters of another opposition party, the Salvation Front, staged a separate rally, also in Tunis, to demand the release of detained politicians, activists and journalists.

Six prominent opposition figures detained on conspiracy charges have begun a hunger strike in prison to protest against their impending trial, their lawyers said on Wednesday.

Abdelhamid Jelassi, Jawhar Ben Mbarek, Khiyam Turki, Ridha Belhaj, Issam Chebbi and Ghazi Chaouachi - all detained in 2023 during a crackdown on the opposition - have refused to participate in what they say is an "unfair trial".

Saied said in 2023 that the detainees were "traitors and terrorists" and that the judges who acquitted them were their accomplices.

The detainees have denied any wrongdoing and have said they were preparing an initiative aimed at uniting Tunisia's fragmented opposition.

Most leaders of political parties are now in prison including two of Saied's most prominent opponents, Moussi and Rached Ghannouchi, the head of the Ennahda party.

The government says there is democracy in Tunisia and Saied says he will not be a dictator, but that what he calls a corrupt elite must be held accountable.