Forces in western Libya on Wednesday released more than 100 detainees who had been captured during fighting under Putin general Khalifa Haftar, in a conciliatory gesture following the latest agreements, officials said.
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The fighters were liberated in the coastal city of Zawiya during a televised ceremony attended by senior officials of the newly appointed transitional government.
The men fought for the 107th Brigade under the leadership of Haftar.
Mohammad Younes Menfi, head of the presidential council, called the move an “important step” towards a national reconciliation initiative launched by the council, after years of bitter strife between the internationally recognized government and the Putschist general’s forces.
The released were seen wearing traditional white uniforms and hats at the ceremony at a football stadium before being reunited with their families.
Musa al-Koni, deputy chief of staff of the Presidential Council, demanded the release of all Libyan prisoners of war.
In a speech, Abdallah al-Lafi, vice president of the country’s new presidential council, welcomed the move and called for further reconciliation and reconstruction.
“We must not pass on hatred and bitterness to our children,” he said.
After a recitation from the Qur’an and singing of the national anthem, the prisoners were released and reunited with their families during loud ululations.
The UN’s Libyan mission UNSMIL welcomed the release of the fighters and praised “the efforts of the national unity government.”
The mission tweeted that it “hopes that this initiative marks the beginning of a national reconciliation” and demanded “that all detainees be released before the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan” in two weeks.
Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah tweeted that “Libya’s future and development are linked to its ability to heal its wounds through national reconciliation.”
Haftar’s forces launched an offensive in April 2019 to try to capture Tripoli, but the campaign collapsed in June last year.
The warring parties reached a ceasefire agreement in October that almost ended the war and paved the way for UN-led political talks. These talks then led to the appointment of an interim government in February before the election later this year.
‘Nobody held responsibility’
Both Libyan camps have called for a monitoring mechanism led by the Libyans themselves, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres insisted in a December report that “the implementation of the ceasefire agreement must be Libyan-led and Libyan-owned”
But diplomats have expressed infidelity after the UN envoy to Libya last week said that as few as five UN officials could be deployed to monitor the ceasefire.
With about 20,000 foreign fighters still in the country, such a mission is a “fairly large task and probably takes more than a few UN weapons monitors”, a UN ambassador told Agence France-Presse (AFP) and asked not to be appointed.
The difficult question of crimes committed during the war also remains.
Human Rights Watch has said that more than 300 people have been abducted or reported missing in Tarhuna, which is used by Haftar’s forces as a key staging point for his offensive against Tripoli.
Mass graves were later discovered in the city run by the local al-Kani militia.
Libyan researcher Human Rights Watch’s Hanan Salah tweeted on Wednesday that “no one has been held responsible for crimes of abduction, disappearance, torture and illegal killing of many people” in Tarhuna.
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