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Libyan Rivals to Hold Peace Talks on Home Soil, Says UN

In this Aug 31, 2019 file photo, fighters from a militia allied with the GNA aim at enemy positions at the Salahaddin neighborhood front line in Tripoli, Libya. (AP)
In this Aug 31, 2019 file photo, fighters from a militia allied with the GNA aim at enemy positions at the Salahaddin neighborhood front line in Tripoli, Libya. (AP)
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Libyan Rivals to Hold Peace Talks on Home Soil, Says UN

In this Aug 31, 2019 file photo, fighters from a militia allied with the GNA aim at enemy positions at the Salahaddin neighborhood front line in Tripoli, Libya. (AP)
In this Aug 31, 2019 file photo, fighters from a militia allied with the GNA aim at enemy positions at the Salahaddin neighborhood front line in Tripoli, Libya. (AP)

The UN's Libya mission said Saturday that a joint military commission with representatives from the two parties to the country's conflict will meet this week on Libyan soil.

The November 2-4 talks will be the first time the teams have met on Libyan territory, UNSMIL said.

"Participants will initiate discussions in the implementation of the ceasefire agreement," the UN said, referring to an October 23 deal signed in Geneva.

Talks will take place in Ghadames, a desert oasis some 465 kilometers (290 miles) southwest of the capital Tripoli, near Libya's borders with Algeria and Tunisia.

Libya has been wracked by conflict for nearly a decade, since the overthrow and killing of longtime ruler Moammar al-Gaddafi in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011.

It has since been dominated by armed groups and divided between two bitterly-opposed administrations: The Government of National Accord based in the capital Tripoli, and another in the east backed by Libyan National Army commander Khalifa Haftar.

The October 23 deal saw the two warring factions sign a "permanent" ceasefire deal intended to pave the way towards a political solution to the country's grinding conflict.

The military commission is dubbed "5+5", because it is made up of five officers from each camp.

The talks will be attended by the UN's Libya envoy Stephanie Williams.

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Geagea Calls on Hezbollah to Work with Lebanese Army

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea. (Lebanese Forces)
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea. (Lebanese Forces)
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Geagea Calls on Hezbollah to Work with Lebanese Army

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea. (Lebanese Forces)
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea. (Lebanese Forces)

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea urged on Friday Hezbollah to engage with the Lebanese army and devise a plan to dismantle its military infrastructure south and north of the Litani river.

In a press conference Friday, Geagea criticized Hezbollah for opening a front with Israel and accused the Shiite group of committing a “major crime” against the Lebanese people.

“We could have done without the martyrdom of more than 4,000 people, the displacement of thousands and the destruction across the country,” he said. “Despite all these tragedies, Hezbollah continues to talk about a victory using a bizarre and disconnected logic that has no basis in reality.”

Geagea’s comments came two days after a US-brokered ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel went into effect. More than 3,900 people have been killed in Lebanon since Israel's conflict with Hezbollah escalated.

Geagea, whose Lebanese Forces Party holds the largest bloc in Lebanon’s 128-member parliament, also addressed Lebanon’s presidential deadlock. The country has been without a president for more than two years.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has scheduled a session for presidential elections in January. "Consultations with opposition factions and our allies will begin in the coming days to explore the possibility of agreeing on presidential candidates and bringing them to parliament,” Geagea said.