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The Ambassadors of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States reiterate our commitment to preserving the sovereignty, territorial integrity, unity, and national cohesion of Libya and our support for the Libyan Political Agreement of 17 December 2015 as the basis for an inclusive political solution of the current conflicts.

We continue to support the Presidency Council as the legitimate governing body, recognised as such by UNSCR 2259. We continue to stand by UNSMILs efforts to address the political, security, economic and institutional crises facing the country.

We condemn the clashes which took place in Tripoli on February 23 and 24, as well as the indiscriminate use of violence against the Libyan people across Libya.

We welcome the cease-fire reached between the forces on the ground in the Abu Selim neighbourhood of the Capital, thanks to the intervention by the Presidency Council, and we reiterate that the use of force is the sole prerogative of State institutions and its security forces.

We condemn the use of violence and any threat levelled against Prime Minister Sarraj and Libyan institutions, as was the case in the attack of February 20th 2017.

We further call on all parties to cease violent acts which result in the loss of civilian lives, and undermine the prospects for political and social reconciliation of the country.

We reaffirm our position that Libyans should decide their own future, and we stand ready to support their efforts to build a strong, prosperous, and unified Libya and implement the Libyan Political Agreements vision for a peaceful transition to a new, elected government.

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Libya - Joint Statement by the Ambassadors of France, Germany ... - France Diplomatie (press release)

The Ambassadors of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States reiterate our commitment to preserving the sovereignty, territorial integrity, unity, and national cohesion of Libya and our support for the Libyan Political Agreement of 17 December 2015 as the basis for an inclusive political solution of the current conflicts. We continue to support the Presidency Council as the legitimate governing body, recognised as such by UNSCR 2259. We continue to stand by UNSMILs efforts to address the political, security, economic and institutional crises facing the country.

We condemn the clashes which took place in Tripoli on February 23 and 24, as well as the indiscriminate use of violence against the Libyan people across Libya.

We welcome the cease-fire reached between the forces on the ground in the Abu Selim neighbourhood of the Capital, thanks to the intervention by the Presidency Council, and we reiterate that the use of force is the sole prerogative of State institutions and its security forces.

We condemn the use of violence and any threat levelled against Prime Minister Sarraj and Libyan institutions, as was the case in the attack of February 20th 2017.

We further call on all parties to cease violent acts which result in the loss of civilian lives, and undermine the prospects for political and social reconciliation of the country.

We reaffirm our position that Libyans should decide their own future, and we stand ready to support their efforts to build a strong, prosperous, and unified Libya and implement the Libyan Political Agreements vision for a peaceful transition to a new, elected government.

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Libya - Joint Statement by the Ambassadors of France, Germany ... - ReliefWeb

Tripoli - A ceasefire went into force early on Saturday in the Libyan capital after two days of fighting between rival gunmen injured nine people and forced residents to cower indoors, the government said.

The fighting between two rival armed groups in eastern Tripoli erupted on Thursday after one accused the other of kidnapping four of its members, the Tripoli-based news agency LANA reported.

It said families trapped in the conflict zone of Abu Slim appealed to the authorities to intervene to halt the violence which closed down the city centre.

The UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) said it had successfully brokered a ceasefire between the two groups, with help from town elders from Tarhuna and Gharian south of Tripoli.

An agreement has been reached to set up three committees to follow up on the accord, the GNA said in a statement released overnight.

One committee will be tasked with enforcing the ceasefire, another consisting of health ministry officials will follow up the condition of those wounded and the third will assess damage, the statement said.

The Libyan Red Crescent on Friday said nine people had been injured in the fighting. There was no official casualty toll.

LANA said the fighting with heavy weapons in the centre of Tripoli erupted on Thursday and raged throughout the day. A truce was reached, but quickly collapsed and clashes continued on Friday.

Residents caught in the crossfire said their homes were shaken by the sound of exploding rockets, as columns of smoke rose from the zone of fighting while tanks and trucks mounted with heavy anti-aircraft guns moved in the zone.

"Two apartments in housing blocks on the airport road were hit by rockets. I can see columns of smoke," local resident Nuria al-Mosbahi told AFP on Friday.

A convoy carrying GNA chief Fayez al-Sarraj came under heavy gunfire near the Abu Slim sector on Monday, but he and other top officials with him survived unharmed.

Libya has been submerged in chaos since the fall and killing of longtime dictator Moammar Gaddafi in a NATO-backed 2011 armed uprising.

Sarraj's fragile GNA, formed under a UN-backed deal signed in late 2015, has struggled to impose its authority, particularly in eastern Libya where a rival administration holds sway.

UN envoy Martin Kobler has deplored the fighting and called, in an online statement, for "calm, dialogue and the protection of civilians".

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Libya govt secures ceasefire after Tripoli clashes - News24

NEW DELHI: An Indian doctor, who has been rescued from the Islamic State captive, has on Sunday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, National Security Agency of India and other senior officials for facilitating his release from Libya.

Dr Ramamurthy Kosanam, a native of Andhra Pradesh's Krishna district, said he would never forget the help done by the Indian authorities to get him free from the captivity of the terrorist group.

"They (ISIS) used to force me to get into operation theaters, but I never did any surgery or stitches for them," Kosanam was quoted as saying by ANI.

"These ISIS people are well-educated youngsters and they do know about India and its development and how it has developed in education, economy and everything else. They are interested in India. But, I did understand that they wanted to spread the ideology of their nation to other parts of the world, including India," he said.

"In a camp in the city, they requested me to come and work in their hospitals. But since I was 61 then I had back pain and right leg nerve pain. I told them I was an old man and I couldn't stand for more than 15 minutes at a stretch. I told them I am medically trained, not surgically trained. So they pulled me out of the Mahakama jail and put in another. I saw all kinds of attacks there," the doctor said.

Talking about the cadres of the terror group, Ramamurthy added that all the members of the outfit were extremely dedicated towards their organisation and were strictly following each and every rule.

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Indian doctor rescued from ISIS captivity in Libya - Times of India

TRIPOLI The bodies of 27 migrants have been recovered in Western Libya, 13 of whom died of suffocation in a shipping container, the Red Crescent said on Thursday.

The migrants found in the container appear to have been locked inside it for several days as it was transported to the coast at Khoms, where they were to attempt to cross the Mediterranean towards Europe, the Red Crescent said in a statement.

Fifty-six migrants were rescued from the container, some suffering from serious injuries and fractures, the statement said.

Another 14 migrant bodies were recovered from the sea near the coastal town of Zuwara, west of Tripoli, on Thursday, while some 124 migrants were rescued in the area, a local Red Crescent spokesman said.

Libya has become the main gateway for migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe. A record 181,000 migrants reached Italy along the route last year.

Within Libya, migrant smugglers operate with impunity, and migrants are subjected to a wide range of abuses, including rape, torture and forced labor.

Earlier this week the bodies of 74 migrants were found on the shore near Zawiya, another town west of Tripoli. The local coast guard said smugglers had stolen the engine from their boat. [nL8N1G62RD]

(Writing by Aidan Lewis; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

DUBAI Iran launched naval drills at the mouth of the Gulf and the Indian Ocean on Sunday, a naval commander said, as tensions with the United States escalated after U.S President Donald Trump put Tehran "on notice".

LONDON Islamic State militants are planning "indiscriminate attacks on innocent civilians" in Britain on a scale similar to those staged by the Irish Republican Army 40 years ago, the head of the country's new terrorism watchdog said.

BEIRUT The Syrian army and its allies made a sudden advance on Saturday and Sunday into areas held by Islamic State in northwest Syria, a war monitor said, as the jihadist group retreated after losing the city of al-Bab to Turkey-backed rebels on Thursday.

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Bodies of 27 migrants recovered in west Libya, 13 in shipping container - Reuters