The High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, has called for a more focused surveillance in Libya to enforce an arms embargo imposed by the United Nations.

In a press conference in Brussels on Monday, Borell announced a new operation in the Mediterranean Sea to curb the flow of arms into the troubled North African country. The call comes two weeks ahead of a European Commission meeting with the African Union.

"The operation will comprise aerial, satellite and maritime assets. Not only maritime assets, satellite and aerial, the warships themselves will serve as the basis for the radar control of their space," Borell said.

"If we want to control the arms embargo, we have to concentrate our surveillance on the Eastern part, where the arms are coming from and a strategic situation with respect to the routes followed by the ships bringing arms to Libya," he added.

Libya has been dogged by war since December 2011, and the situation heightened in early 2019 when rebel General Khalifa Hafter pledged to take over Tripoli from the Government of National Accord (GNA) led by Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj.

Hafter announced in early December a final push to take over the capital from al-Sarraj's government, unleashing heavy clashes on the southern edges of the city.

Since 2011, the Libyan war has killed thousands and displaced millions as militant groups and human trafficking cells sought to impose their command in various regions across the country.

The United Nations and some International actors continue to urge the warring factions to engage in dialogue in order to end the conflict and put the country back on course to the formation of a unified government.

Source(s): European Union