(by Massimiliano D'Elia) A few days ago there was the extraordinary meeting of the COPS - Political Security Committee - on Libya. The representative of the European External Action Service (Seae) represented the plan for a remodeling of the mission to the various ambassadors who attended EunavforMEd - Sophia for the surveillance of the UN resolution on the arms embargo.

According to when Ansa writes, the document is divided into two phases of intervention. first achievable in a short time provides that the COPS provides operational guidelines to the mission commander, to focus the main efforts on the implementation of the arms embargo. Subsequently, the formal restructuring of the mandate priorities is postponed with a change of mission name. In the first phase, as well as for the second, the return to the use of naval assets and the use of satellites and drones for surveillance.

On the question of ports of landing for i migrants rescued at sea, the document proposes ad hoc agreements for landings, or a shared mechanism for landing and redistribution. The redistribution of migrants, however, posed the greatest doubts and reservations by the ambassadors who intervened.

We recall that it was the former Minister of the Interior Matteo Salvini who questioned the Sophia mission precisely due to the fact that it provided for the distribution of migrants only on Italian territory (port of first landing). In fact, naval missions were suspended relying exclusively on the surveillance of the Air Force's APR aircraft.  

The situation in Libya

In Sirte there is a new air since General Khalifa Haftar imposed his rules. Closure of oil wells and short and random attacks around Tripoli to keep the tension high and not to apply the "ceasefire" demanded with a unanimous voice by the countries of the Berlin summit. The people of Sirte are especially grateful to Khalifa Haftar for liberating him from the Misrata militias. The Misrata Militias entered Sirte with the help of the Americans to fight against Isis.

In Sirte, today, everyone would like the son who is more accustomed to Gaddafi's politics to govern the country,  Saif al Islam: "We still don't know if Saif al Isiam, Muammar's political son, will really be able to rebuild Libya. He has been in prison for a long time in Zintan since 2011, risks being murdered at any time if he comes out. But he sure will try. And we will be with him ".

Libya after Gaddafi's death underwent a revolution on February 17, 201. First the advance of the rebel brigades, then the counter-offensives of the tribes loyal to Gaddafi, then the triumphs of the NATO-backed Misrata militias, followed by the arrival of Isis and the battles to eradicate it in 2016. The story of Haftar's recent victory is told by Cremonesi in the Corriere della Sera that he interviewed  Ahmad Milud, an entrepreneur from Tripoli who had moved from the capital to Sirte in early January: "The decision to come was sudden, dictated by fear. On January 2 at eight in the morning I drove out of my house in the Hadba neighborhood of Tripoli to buy bread. But I was amazed to meet two Syrian militiamen just sent from Turkey to man a checkpoint alone. It was unbearable. We cannot be ruled by foreign troops and jihadist mercenaries. Before evening I was already on my way to Sirte with my wife and our three little girls».

The arrival of Haftar's troops in the city. "It was completely painless, peaceful, without any bloodshed in all of Sirte. Not even a shot from a rifle, if not those of joy fired in the air by the population for being freed. At five in the afternoon, Tv218, the Benghazi broadcaster, warned that their columns were entering from the eastern area. Others were in the process of cutting the coastal road to the west. Evidently the Misrata militias surrounded by a hostile population have chosen the quick retreat to avoid being surrounded with no escape".

Now we must not waste any more time because in the south of Libya, Isis is organizing itself to throw the country more and more into chaos. The UN and the EU must hurry to impose a lasting ceasefire and favor the national vote "protected from external interference" for the appointment of a new political leader excluding the names of Haftar and al Serraj, too much resentment and interests of two.

The only way is the reactivation of the Sophia mission (providing for an equitable structural solution for the redistribution of migrants) and the sending of a UN, EU, or NATO mission on the ground, as an interposition force and "peace enforcing" to favor free and democratic elections. The alternative is the destabilization of the fragile existing balances, leaving the Mediterranean as an area of ​​conquest and a crossroads of illicit trafficking in arms, drugs, oil and above all migrants.

Basically: “Time's up, we need a ground mission before it's too late”.

A bogus ceasefire, the concerns of the UN special envoy Ghassam Salamè

Yesterday in an interview with France 24The UN Secretary General's special envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salamè, revealed that the Mission (UNSMIL) has recorded at least 50 ceasefire violations since the Berlin conference. Salamè explained that the Mission and experts are still working to ascertain responsibilities. document and stop these violations, most of which occurred near Mitiga international airport.

The envoy, commenting on the LNA's warning to shoot down any "flying object" in the skies of the Libyan capital, said these statements would come in response to the supply of anti-missile and defense systems to the parties engaged in the battle, a clear reference to Turkey and other supporters of the militias affiliated to the Government of National Accord (GNA). As anticipated two days ago, defensive systems allegedly provided by Ankara have been installed at the control towers and in the perimeter of the Tripoli airport. In this regard, the envoy reiterated the importance of respecting the embargo because the violations of third States are transformed into other battles. The civil war has become "a regional war, in light of the strong interference from foreign aviation and the use of antiaircraft against foreign aviation".

Salami it also confirmed the arrival of Syrian men in Libya, specifying that at least 1000-2000, people arriving from Syria, would already be participating in the battle. However, the Mission would not know the political identity of these fighters. It should also be said that Turkey has confirmed the presence of its own teams of officers, in Tripoli and Misurata, engaged in coordination and training activities, as many are arriving in these hours in support of the forces already deployed on the ground, which suggests that the conflict will continue.

Salamè said that "what we generated from the Berlin conference is not a solution to the crisis, but an opportunity for the Libyans to agree on the three tracks we have set ", stressing that the economic and financial track has been going well since the January 6 meeting in Tunis. The envoy expressed his hope that the military and security dialogue process could begin in the middle of next week in Geneva, especially after the names of the ten officers, five for the GNA and 5 for the LNA have been agreed between the two sides in conflict in Libya. In conjunction with the military runway, or immediately after, you should proceed with the political dialogue.