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.



Israeli Strike in Syria Kills 5 Soldiers

People fleeing from Lebanon arrive on the Syrian side of the border with Lebanon in Jdeidat Yabus in southwestern Syria on September 25, 2024. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
People fleeing from Lebanon arrive on the Syrian side of the border with Lebanon in Jdeidat Yabus in southwestern Syria on September 25, 2024. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
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Israeli Strike in Syria Kills 5 Soldiers

People fleeing from Lebanon arrive on the Syrian side of the border with Lebanon in Jdeidat Yabus in southwestern Syria on September 25, 2024. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
People fleeing from Lebanon arrive on the Syrian side of the border with Lebanon in Jdeidat Yabus in southwestern Syria on September 25, 2024. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)

An overnight Israeli airstrike on a military site in the area of Kfar Yabous in Syria near the border with Lebanon killed five Syrian army soldiers and injured another, Syrian state news agency SANA reported Friday, citing an unnamed military official.

Israel's military did not immediately acknowledge the strike. Israel regularly targets military sites in Syria and facilities linked to Iran and the Lebanon’s Hezbollah but rarely acknowledges them.

Those strikes have become more frequent as Hezbollah has exchanged fire with Israeli forces for the past 11 months against the backdrop of Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Tens of thousands of Lebanese and Syrians have fled across the border from Lebanon into Syria since the beginning of the week amid intense Israeli bombardment that Israel says is targeting Hezbollah fighters and weapons. The strikes have killed an estimated 700 people to date, including at least 150 women and children.