Increasing pressure from members of the US administration to implement the arms embargo imposed on Libya by the Security Council to contribute to the success of the UN-led political settlement in the country since the Berlin conference last January.
This pressure was represented in a letter from US Senate members to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo asking him to respect the arms embargo on Libya, in addition to a bill in the House of Representatives that prohibits the sale of US drones to the UAE
Arms embargo.
Members of the US Senate, Cory Booker – Bernie Sanders – and Jane Shaheen, who are members of the Democratic Party whose candidate Joe Biden arrived to the presidency of the United States of America, on November 10, sent a letter to the Secretary of State, calling for respecting the arms embargo on Libya as necessary for the success of the the political dialogue forum is currently taking place in Tunisia.
The message of members of Congress, published in the Washington Post, confirmed that states’ obligations to stop supplying Libyan parties with advanced weapons have not been followed by actions, as countries such as Russia, the UAE, and others continue to violate the arms embargo.
In the same context, the members of the Senate expressed their concern about the UAE’s support for Haftar, and talked about Emirati flights to areas under his control and Emirati arrangements to bring more than 1,000 mercenaries to Libya from Sudan.
Weapons and mercenaries
Last August, Human Rights Watch revealed, through a lengthy investigation, that the UAE had recruited Sudanese security guards to work in Libya in support of Haftar by the Black Shield Security Services Company.
The United Nations report also mentioned that the UAE has agreed with the Sudanese “Janjaweed” Rapid Support Forces to send 1,000 soldiers to participate in the military operations led by Haftar.
For its part, the Media Center for Operation Volcano of Anger announced last March that it had monitored the arrival of 3 “Ilyushin” military cargo planes coming from the UAE, to a base in Al-Marj, after the number of Emirati cargo planes reached 40 during the month of February.
Democrats in the House of Representatives had submitted a bill that would impose conditions on the UAE before the start of the sale of 18 armed drones worth nearly $ 2.9 billion to Abu Dhabi, recalling the bombing of the military college in the capital, Tripoli, which international reports said was carried out by Emirati drones.
Military college attack
The British BBC published an investigation confirming the UAE’s involvement in bombing the college’s students last January. The shrapnel in the vicinity of the explosion confirmed that the bombing was with a “Blue Arrow 7” missile and that the “Wing Long” Chinese-made plane is the only aircraft capable of launching a “Blue Arrow 7), and the investigation has documented the presence of this type of drones in the Al-Jufra and Al-Khadim bases controlled by the UAE.
Forbidden Report
On the other hand, the letter urged the US State Department to take steps to publish the latest UN report on arms supplies that Russia and China have prevented from releasing. Last September, Germany called on Russia and China to allow the publication of the report, which talks about the violation of the arms embargo imposed on Libya.
Germany’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations, Gunter Sautter, said those who violate the arms embargo should be blatantly named, held accountable and exposed.
Warning to Washington
Amnesty International warned, on November 9, that US arms sales to the United Arab Emirates may make Washington responsible for more civilian deaths in Libya.
One of the organization’s officials, Philip Nassif, added that they have obtained ample evidence that the UAE has used armed drones in Libya to target civilian homes and health facilities, including field hospitals and ambulances, even though they are specially protected under international humanitarian law.
