Libya proposes ceasefire and end to airstrikes
Prime Minister Al-Mahmudi said the country wanted an immediate ceasefire, at the same time as NATO halted air strikes..
Libyan Prime Minister Baghdadi Al-Mahmudi on May 15 received the United Nations Secretary-General's Special Envoy on Libya, Mr. Abdul-Ilah al-Khatib, who is visiting the country.
According to the official Libyan state news agency JANA, speaking after the reception, Prime Minister Al-Mahmudi announced that the country wanted an immediate ceasefire, at the same time as NATO stopped bombing.
Smoke rises after an airstrike by NATO aircraft
in Tajoura district on May 13. Source: THX/TTXVN
Mr. Al-Mahmudi said Libya will accept the reception of international observers, but Libya must receive a commitment to territorial and national unity and the right to decide internal issues and build a political system through democratic dialogue.
Prime Minister Al-Mahmudi also accused NATO of abusing and violating the UN resolution to establish a no-fly zone in Libya, blockade the sea, bomb residential areas and destroy the country's infrastructure.
During his one-day visit to Libya, Special Envoy Khatib also met many other senior officials of the Tripoli government such as Foreign Minister Abdelati Laabidi, Secretary General of the Libyan Public Committee (LPC)...
The two sides discussed the full implementation of Resolution 1970 and Resolution 1073 of the United Nations Security Council to allow humanitarian operations, promote the ceasefire process and political process in Libya.
According to Special Envoy Khatib's statement, the exchanges were open, and the Tripoli government said it was ready to cooperate.
On the same day, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also spoke by phone with the Libyan Prime Minister about resolving the current crisis in this North African country.
Just before Mr Khatib arrived in Libya, several explosions rocked the Tajura suburb east of the capital Tripoli.
Earlier, JANA news agency said many people were killed and facilities were heavily damaged after NATO attacked military and civilian facilities in Zuara in western Tripoli.
According to Al-Arabiya TV channel, Libyan military spokesman Colonel Milad Hussein al-Fiqhi was killed on May 15 in a NATO attack on an intelligence headquarters in the capital Tripoli.
According to VNA
