World leaders announced a new cease-fire Sunday and pledged to respect an arms embargo in Libya, concluding a U.N.-sponsored summit that marked an eleventh-hour push by European nations to re-engage in an intractable conflict they had long ignored. “I cannot stress enough the summit’s conclusion that there is no military solution to the conflict in Libya,” said U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a news conference on Sunday. It also calls for an extensive demobilization and disarmament of the militias, along with sanctions against any violators of the Berlin agreement. Leaders from the United Nations, the European Union, the African Union and the Arab League also attended. The agreement follows years of marginal engagement by the U.S. and European nations, which mostly stood by as the country descended into confrontations waged by militias tapping the country’s resources.

Source: Los Angeles Times January 20, 2020 00:33 UTC