UN Security Council extends Libya weapons ban

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The U.N. Security Council unanimously approved Monday a one-year extension on the flow of weapons to Libya.

The ban, which is being principally implemented by a EU force, will remain in effect through June 2020 amid ongoing hostilities between renegade commander Khalifa Haftar and the U.N.-recognized government in Tripoli.

Haftar's forces have so far been unsuccessful in seeking to capture Tripoli from the U.N.-recognized Government of National Accord in a campaign that began in April.

Nevertheless, his forces remain deployed in several areas around the capital.

The U.N. Security Council authorized in 2016 Operation Sophia, the EU operation initially aimed at combatting migrant trafficking, to also inspect ships in the Mediterranean suspected of carrying weapons to enforce the arms embargo.

The resolution adopted Monday requests U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres to report to the council within 11 months on the embargo's implementation.

Libya has remained beset by turmoil since 2011, when long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi was ousted and killed in a NATO-backed uprising after four decades in power.

The oil-rich country has since seen the emergence of two rival seats of power: one in eastern Libya, with which Haftar is affiliated, and the Tripoli-based U.N.-recognized government.