..The purposes of a truce are twofold: 1.) bring up more arms, ammunition, and reinforcements; and 2.) get the enemy to relax his vigilance. A
truceis not the same thing as a
ceasefire, and a
ceasefiredoesn't mean you have to stop shooting...
for the month of Ramadan. UNSMIL and the international community had urged both parties in the conflict to hold a ceasefire during the month of Ramadan and due to coranvirus pandemic fears.
According to Fayez al-Sarraj’s media office, the Presidential Council said that the decision declared by the "aggressor" (referring to Commander Khalifa Haftar
...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy, so it's kind of hard to describe him as a Qadaffy holdover. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all. Actually, he is, but slowly...) two days ago for the leadership of the army to take over power, which the Council described as "a turn against the political agreement and legitimate institutions", confirms that he is not a partner in peace.