Western 27 Sept 16

Sep 27, 2016 | International actors

On 22 September, 22 countries, plus the European Union, United Nations, the League of Arab States, and the African Union, issued a joint communiqué on Libya, reiterating commitment to the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) signed in Skhirat last year. The communiqué urged the Presidential Council (PC) to put forward a new Government of National Accord (GNA) ministerial list to the House of Representatives (HoR) for a vote, and urged the HoR to approve it. The statement urged full de-escalation of conflict, and supported PM Serraj’s move to reduce tensions in the oil crescent after the LNA takeover.  It also welcomed the recent transfer of oil facilities in the crescent to the National Oil Corporation (NOC), as well as the plans to increase oil production and exports.

On 23 September, United States Africa Command (U.S. AFRICOM) reported that it has carried out 169 airstrikes in total since Operation Odyssey Lightning, the US campaign of airstrikes against ISIS targets in Sirte, commenced on 1 August this year.