UN says Libya arms embargo 'totally ineffective'
A United Nations panel of experts accused several member states, including Turkey and Russia, of fueling the Libyan conflict.
Libya’s arms embargo has been “totally ineffective,” a panel of United Nations experts said in a report Tuesday describing UN member states' violations as "extensive, blatant and with complete disregard for the sanctions measures."
The 550-page report, which covered October 2019 through late January 2020, blasted several UN member states for violating the UN arms embargo that has been in place since the uprising that toppled longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.
"Their control of the entire supply chain complicates detection, disruption or interdiction ... [making] any implementation of the arms embargo more difficult,” the report said.
Libya is embroiled in a proxy war between two rival administrations, each backed by foreign governments that have flooded the country with arms and mercenaries. The report lists violations from the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan and Russia, which support Gen. Khalifa Hifter’s self-styled Libyan National Army, and violations from Turkey and Qatar, which back the internationally recognized Government of National Accord.
