Libya’s Presidency Council hails prisoners’ release

Tripoli, April 1 : Mohammad Menfi, President of the Libyan Presidency Council, has welcomed the release of more than 100 prisoners who were fighting with the eastern-based army during the war in and around the capital Tripoli.

The prisoners were detained in the city of Zawiya, located some 45 km west of Tripoli, by forces allied with the former UN-backed Government of National Accord, reports Xinhua news agency.

"We welcome the release of the prisoners based on the initiative of the dialogue committee of Zawiya city, which is considered an important step towards national reconciliation that the Presidency Council launched upon receiving office," Xinhua news agency quoted Menfi as saying in a statement on Wednesday.Menfi confirmed that the Presidency Council seeks to bring the Libyans together and end the state of division in the country.

He also called for "consolidating the values of forgiveness and tolerance and prioritizing the national interest of Libya",A ceremony was held in the city celebrating the release of the prisoners, as they joined their families.The UN-sponsored Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) recently selected a new executive authority for the country.

Menfi was appointed as the President of the Presidency Council along with new Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, whose government was granted confidence by the House of Representatives earlier this month.The new governments main task is to hold general elections in the country on December 24, 2021, as agreed by the LPDF.

Libya plunged into chaos after the fall of late leader Muammar Gaddafis government in 2011, witnessing prolonged conflict between the eastern-based Khalifa Haftar-led Libyan National Army (LNA) and the UN-recognised Government of National Accord in the countrys west.Due to the protracted armed conflict, political and economic crises and the coronavirus pandemic, nearly 1.2 million people, including over 348,000 children, require humanitarian assistance in Libya, according to the Unicef.