The United Nations billed the deal as historic after years of fighting that has split the North African country in two.
The rival sides in Libya’s conflict signed a permanent cease-fire Friday, a deal the United Nations billed as historic after years of fighting that has split the North African country in two. But skepticism over whether the agreement would hold began emerging almost immediately. The breakthrough, which among other things orders foreign mercenaries out of the country, sets the stage for political talks in November to find a lasting solution to the chaos unleashed after a 2011 NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Previous diplomatic initiatives to end the conflict have repeatedly collapsed – but the U.N.-brokered deal aims to cement a monthslong lull in fighting and gives a boost to the political process. On Friday morning, U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres called a press conference in New York to announce the cease-fire, CBS News’ Pamela Falk reports, making the point that although it is U.N.-brokered, the cease-fire is a « Libyan-led » process. « There is no military solution for the conflict in Libya. This ceasefire agreement is a critical step. But there is much hard work ahead, » Guterres said. « I am honored to be among you today to witness a moment that will go down in history, » Stephanie Turco Williams, the top U.N. envoy for Libya who led mediation talks this week, said at the signing in Geneva. She did, however, express some caution, noting that a « long and difficult » road remains ahead. It’s not clear how the cease-fire will be enforced, given the patchwork of militias in Libya, but Williams said armed groups and military units had agreed to return « to their camps » and that the deal would take effect immediately. Foreign mercenaries will depart « from all Libyan territories land, air and sea » within three months, she added, referring to the thousands of Syrian fighters deployed by Turkey and Russia on opposite sides of the war.
