Libya’s rival sides launched a UN-mediated exchange of prisoners, UN and Libyan officials said on Saturday, as part of a preliminary ceasefire agreement between the fighting Libyan groups.
The exchange of the first batch of prisoners, overseen by a joint military committee, took place on Friday in the southwestern village of al-Shwayrif, according to the UN support mission in Libya (UNSMIL).
Libya is divided between a UN-backed National Accounts Government (GNA) in the capital Tripoli and rival authorities based in the east of the country under the leadership of Putist General Khalifa Haftar. In April 2019, Haftar and his forces launched an offensive to try to capture Tripoli, a campaign that collapsed after Turkey intensified its military support for the UN-backed government.
The oil-rich country was plunged into chaos after the 2011 NATO uprising that overthrew and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
The two sides signed a nationwide, UN-mediated ceasefire in October that included the exchange of all prisoners of war.
UNSMIL announced the exchange of prisoners without giving details on how many prisoners were released on each side. It called on both parties to speed up the implementation of the ceasefire agreement, including the exchange of all prisoners.
Fathi Bashagha, GNA’s Minister of the Interior, praised the exchange in a tweet and attached photos of the released prisoners.
The Tripoli Protection Unit, a militia allied with the capital-based government, also published a 31-second video apparently showing the prisoner’s exchange with an official reading the names of the released.
The ceasefire included that all foreign forces and mercenaries must leave Libya within three months, but no progress has been reported two months after the deal.
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