662 illegal migrants rescued off Libyan coast: UN agency
Up to 662 illegal migrants were rescued off the coast of Libya in the past week, the International Organisation for Migration said.
The League of Arab States on Tuesday renewed its call for a permanent cessation of military operations in Libya.
According to the statement, the pan-Arab organisation appreciated the progress made during the second round of the 5+5 Libyan Joint Military Commission (JMC) talks concluded on Sunday in Geneva.
The Arab League also welcomed the announcement by the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) that the rival Libyan parties came up with a draft cease-fire agreement to facilitate the return of displaced people, Xinhua news agency reported.
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It urged parties involved to urgently resume discussions on the draft in order to endorse it and agree on permanent and comprehensive arrangements to enforce and monitor the cease-fire.
Last week, Russia and Turkey announced that it would continue efforts to end hostilities in Libya despite strongman Khalifa Haftar leaving the peace talks in Moscow without signing a permanent ceasefire deal.
More than 280 civilians and about 2,000 fighters have been killed and 146,000 Libyans displaced since Haftar launched his assault to seize the capital Tripoli, according to the United Nations.
The Libya agreement underscores the rising clout of Putin in the region as well as his increasingly strong relationship with Erdogan, despite Turkey’s membership of Nato and the two countries’ support for opposing sides in the Syrian civil war.
The Syrian army entered the city of Tabqa in the northern countryside of Raqqa province, as part of its move to enter Kurdish-held areas to counter the ongoing Turkish assault in the region.
More than 50 people, including civilians, have been killed last week as the Turkish offensive in Syria, which was launched by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan aimed at pushing the Kurdish forces away from its border.
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