Morocco: Solution to Libyan Crisis Only Possible Through Int’l Support, Elections

Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to Libya Abdoulaye Bathily hold a press conference in Rabat. (Moroccan Foreign Ministry)
Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to Libya Abdoulaye Bathily hold a press conference in Rabat. (Moroccan Foreign Ministry)
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Morocco: Solution to Libyan Crisis Only Possible Through Int’l Support, Elections

Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to Libya Abdoulaye Bathily hold a press conference in Rabat. (Moroccan Foreign Ministry)
Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to Libya Abdoulaye Bathily hold a press conference in Rabat. (Moroccan Foreign Ministry)

Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita said Monday that resolving the Libyan crisis cannot be achieved without international support through the United Nations.

Bourita held talks in Rabat with Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to Libya, Abdoulaye Bathily.

Following the talks, he told a press conference that holding presidential and parliamentary elections was essential to resolving the crisis in Libya, while acknowledging that obstacles are still hindering the solution.

Morocco and the UN have been in contact over the developments in Libya.

Morocco has hosted several meetings that have brought together Libyan rivals. The meetings had paved the way for reaching an agreement on the need to hold general elections.

“Morocco supports Libya's unity and sovereignty and backs a solution that guarantees them,” Bourita added

He rejected foreign meddling in Libyan affairs, stressing that there can be no military solution to the crisis.

For his part, Bathily said that Morocco has expressed the same concerns as the UN Secretary-General regarding Libya. “We must contribute to restoring security and stability in Libya,” he affirmed.

The envoy added that Libya enjoys enormous resources that allow it to prosper.

“The Libyans are working hard, at all levels, in order to reach a solution to the crisis,” he said.

Meanwhile, the UN Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Libya - chaired by Mohammad Auajjar - urged the authorities to “take decisive steps to provide justice and redress to the vast number of victims suffering from longstanding violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.”

“The families of these victims have waited far too long for justice,” said Auajjar.

“Libyan authorities owe it to them to share information about their loved ones, to meet them and give them answers. Silence is unacceptable.”

“We, too, have asked repeatedly for answers to the status of multiple investigations concerning serious human rights violations, but to date, there has been no satisfactory response,” Auajjar added.

During the January 23-26 mission to Tripoli, the FFM’s experts met with victims and victims’ representatives, who provided testimony related to extrajudicial killings, torture, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, human trafficking, internal displacement, the existence of mass graves and morgues containing corpses that families do not have access to.

The FFM comprises rights expert Chaloka Beyani who said that “arbitrary detention in Libya has become pervasive as a tool of political repression and control, which explains why thousands of persons are deprived of their liberty, often in poor conditions, without due process or access to justice.”

The UN Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Libya was established by the Human Rights Council in June 2020, to investigate alleged abuses of international human rights law and international humanitarian law committed in Libya since 2016.



Türkiye Denies Direct Talks with SDF, Demands Full Disarmament

Türkiye insists on the dissolution of the SDF, the departure of foreign fighters from Syria, and the integration of remaining members into the new army (Reuters)
Türkiye insists on the dissolution of the SDF, the departure of foreign fighters from Syria, and the integration of remaining members into the new army (Reuters)
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Türkiye Denies Direct Talks with SDF, Demands Full Disarmament

Türkiye insists on the dissolution of the SDF, the departure of foreign fighters from Syria, and the integration of remaining members into the new army (Reuters)
Türkiye insists on the dissolution of the SDF, the departure of foreign fighters from Syria, and the integration of remaining members into the new army (Reuters)

Türkiye has denied holding any direct negotiations with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), asserting that no dialogue is possible unless the group dissolves itself and fully disarms.

Omer Celik, spokesperson and deputy chair of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), firmly rejected recent reports and statements suggesting contacts between Turkish authorities and the SDF.

“No official meetings have taken place,” Celik stated Thursday, following a high-level party meeting chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

His comments came in response to a recent interview with SDF commander Mazloum Abdi, who claimed there had been direct contacts and expressed openness to meeting Erdogan. Without naming Abdi directly, Celik dismissed the notion that Türkiye had engaged with the SDF as though it were an independent entity. “It is unacceptable to frame the situation in that way,” he said.

Celik reiterated that any engagement would only be possible if the SDF disbands, lays down its arms, and ends its affiliation with the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party), which Ankara considers a terrorist organization. “If they disarm, then a meeting could be possible,” he added.

In recent days, several Western media outlets reported that US-mediated talks had taken place between Türkiye and the SDF. These reports claimed the discussions centered on reducing tensions, dissolving the SDF, and implementing a March agreement with the Syrian government that would see SDF fighters integrated into a new Syrian army and hand over ISIS-linked detainees and camps to Damascus.

While some reports hinted at a potential meeting between Abdi and either Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan or intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin, Fidan denied such plans. He confirmed that Türkiye is working with both Washington and Damascus to implement the SDF’s military integration.

Celik also acknowledged an agreement between the SDF and the Syrian government that would see the SDF hand over territory to state control. He stated that all PKK elements, especially those from the YPG (the SDF’s leading faction), must leave the country.

Referring to a May 12 PKK statement titled “Dissolution of the PKK and Disarmament,” Celik stressed that Erdogan had made it clear that all PKK-affiliated structures, including the SDF, must be dismantled and disarmed.

“This is not about opposing Kurdish rights,” Celik concluded. “President Erdogan told Assad years ago: Give Kurds their rights like any other citizens. But we will never allow a terrorist state on our southern border.”