The European Union calls for an immediate end to all military operations in Libya

The European Union's High Commissioner for Foreign Policy and Security, Josep Borrell, and the foreign ministers of France, Germany and Italy issued a joint statement on Tuesday urging all parties to the conflict in Libya to immediately stop all military operations and to participate constructively in the peace negotiations.

Meanwhile, the US embassy in Libya has expressed its fear of a new humanitarian crisis in Sirte and warned that the escalation of violence in this region will reinforce division and exacerbate civilian suffering. "After working together with Libyan citizens and other actors in the international community to help Sirte recover from Daesh's occupation, the United States has a special interest in ensuring that the people of this city are not forced into another such devastating experience," they said in an official statement posted on their Facebook profile. 

In this statement, Washington has shown its support for the United Nations Mission of Support in Libya (UNMIL) and its decision to call on all warring parties to stop the escalation, respect their obligations under international humanitarian law and refrain from engaging in acts of revenge and sabotage directed at civilians and civilian infrastructure. The conflict in Libya confronts the Libyan National Army (LNA), supported by Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Sudan, Russia and France, and the Government of National Accord (GNA), which is supported by the Muslim Brotherhood, Turkey and Qatar and is internationally recognized by the United Nations. 

A spokesman for Operation Iraqi Volcano, a GNA operation, Commander Abdelhadi Drah announced last Saturday that militias backed by mercenaries recruited by Turkey had re-conquered the strategic location of Al Wishka and reached the centre of the coastal town of Sirte in central Libya. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan admitted on Monday that he was trying to take control of the oil city. The statements issued by the United States and the European Union came at the same time as a French diplomatic source spoke about the danger that the presence of Turkey in the conflict that plagues the North African nation poses to the international community, according to the Al Arabiya and Al Hadath television channels. 

For his part, the Turkish leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said on Tuesday that his country will continue to support the National Accord Government of Libya, both on a military and civilian level. Erdogan made these statements at the same time as a Bulgarian website revealed, citing local sources from Turkey, that Ankara sent a frigate into Libyan territorial waters, further poisoning its relations with the countries of the region. The frigate, according to this media, is intended to support the Sarraj government during the fighting in the Sirte area. 

Since 2014, two executives - one led by Field Marshal Jalifa Haftar and another, based in the capital and internationally recognized, presided over by Fayez Sarraj - have been living together in Libya, unable to reach an agreement and controlling different areas of a state characterized by its oil fields. The last two weeks have marked a turning point in a complex conflict where foreign powers such as Russia or Turkey play a fundamental role, as well as natural resources. 

In a joint statement issued late Tuesday by the German, French and Italian foreign ministers, EU top diplomat Josep Borrell called on the parties to the conflict in Libya to agree immediately on a ceasefire and to withdraw all foreign militias, mercenaries and military equipment. 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel had a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the recent escalation of violence in Libya. A day earlier, Merkel had spoken on the same subject with the Egyptian leader, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. During this telephone meeting, Merkel told al-Sisi that "UN-backed negotiations must remain the key objective of a peace process in Libya," according to Reuters news agency. The chaos that has characterized Libya in recent weeks has worried Egypt, which on Saturday presented an initiative to end the conflict in its neighboring country. ​​​​​​​

The United Nations Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) has repeatedly deplored the fact that the fighting between January and March caused more than 100 civilian victims and that the recent clashes forced at least 16,000 people to be displaced by force.