Salame Discusses al-Multaqa al-Watani Preparations with Aboul Gheit, Sarraj

Al-Sarraj during his meeting with Salame and Williams. Presidential Council
Al-Sarraj during his meeting with Salame and Williams. Presidential Council
TT
20

Salame Discusses al-Multaqa al-Watani Preparations with Aboul Gheit, Sarraj

Al-Sarraj during his meeting with Salame and Williams. Presidential Council
Al-Sarraj during his meeting with Salame and Williams. Presidential Council

Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit has discussed with the head of the UN mission in Libya (UNSMIL), Ghassan Salame, preparations for the so-called al-Multaqa al-Watani that is set to take place in the coming weeks.

Mahmoud Afifi, spokesman for the Arab League secretary general, said that Aboul Gheit and Salame discussed during a phone conversation on Thursday the latest arrangements made by UNSMIL to organize the meeting.

The Arab League leader and the UN envoy agreed to continue coordination into encouraging all Libyan factions to assume their responsibilities in overcoming the country’s problems, said Afifi.

They also discussed the need to back all efforts to consolidate security and stability across Libya and to unify the country’s institutions.

The UN mission also announced Thursday that Salame and Deputy Special Representative for Political Affairs in Libya Stephanie Williams discussed preparations for al-Multaqa al-Watani in a meeting with the head of the Government of National Accord, Fayez al-Sarraj.

“They stressed the need to expedite implementation of the security arrangements for Tripoli and to continue economic reforms & service delivery,” UNSMIL said in a tweet.

The meeting came as a security official in the capital confirmed media reports that several state institutions had been temporarily evacuated over fears of attacks by the ISIS terrorist group.

The official refused to reveal the source of the security threats. But stressed that security agencies have upped their measures near most state agencies and institutions.

These developments came just two days after the GNA’s interior minister, Basha Agha, said that ISIS has a presence in Tripoli and that its militants are freely roaming in the city and its suburbs.



ISIS Kills Five Kurdish Fighters in Eastern Syria

Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters sit on a vehicle in the north of Raqqa city, Syria. (Reuters file)
Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters sit on a vehicle in the north of Raqqa city, Syria. (Reuters file)
TT
20

ISIS Kills Five Kurdish Fighters in Eastern Syria

Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters sit on a vehicle in the north of Raqqa city, Syria. (Reuters file)
Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters sit on a vehicle in the north of Raqqa city, Syria. (Reuters file)

The ISIS militant group said on Monday it killed five Kurdish fighters in an attack in eastern Syria's Deir Ezzor, according to the group's news agency.

The spokesperson for Syria's Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces Farhad Shami confirmed to Reuters that five members were killed in the attack which he described as "one of deadliest" against the group in a while.

Deir Ezzor city was captured by the ISIS group in 2014, but the Syrian army retook it in 2017.

Former ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared a so-called “caliphate” over a quarter of Syria and Iraq in 2014 before he was killed in a raid by US special forces in northwest Syria in 2019 as the group collapsed.

It has been recently trying to stage a comeback in the Middle East, the West and Asia.