UN chief calls anew for foreign 'elements' to leave Libya

UNITED NATIONS - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "remains deeply concerned" that "foreign elements" continue to operate in Libya, he wrote in a report to the Security Council.

The document, obtained by AFP and discussed Wednesday by Council members, notes some mercenaries have moved position, but considers the action insufficient.

It indicates that foreign forces left the center and west of the coastal city of Sirte on February 28 to Wadi Harawa, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) east, to help secure the city and allow the reopening of the Al-Ghardabiya airport.

But "there has reportedly been no reduction of foreign forces or their activities in central Libya," Guterres said in his report.

Oil-rich Libya descended into chaos after dictator Moamer Kadhafi was toppled and killed in a 2011 NATO-backed uprising, resulting in multiple forces vying for power.

The UN had estimated in December that 20,000 foreign troops and mercenaries were active in Libya.

"I reiterate my call on all national, regional and international actors to respect the provisions of the ceasefire agreement in order to ensure its full implementation without delay. This includes complete and unconditional respect for and compliance with the United Nations arms embargo," Guterres wrote.

Several previous UN reports -- one of which called the arms embargo "totally ineffective" -- have highlighted the presence in Libya of Russian, Chadian, Sudanese and Syrian mercenaries, among others, as well as Turkish military units.

"Their withdrawal from Libya will go a long way in reconstituting the unity and sovereignty of the country and healing the deep wounds caused by many years of internal strife, active conflict and foreign interference," its new envoy for Libya, Jan Kubis, told the Security Council.

AFP