EU foreign ministers said on Monday that they have agreed to launch a new mission in the Mediterranean Sea to enforce a United Nations arms embargo on Libya that is currently routinely flouted.

Violations of an arms embargo in Libya have become a joke and those who breach it must be held to account, a senior UN official has said.

European Union officials are seeking support from member states to have naval ships enforce the UN arms embargo against Libya, according to a document obtained by The Associated Press on Friday.

The African Union’s Peace and Security Council, which was held before the start of the 33rd African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, proposed three tangible steps to reach a ceasefire in Libya.

Austrian Chancellor, Sebastian Kurz said that the suspended European naval operation “Sophia” launched on the Libyan coasts was practically ineffective in the period between 2016 and 2019.

The Berlin conference that convened last month to salvage the feeble Libyan political process was generally regarded by participants as a step in the right direction. German Chancellor Angela Merkel successfully kept the motion afloat as catastrophe loomed.

African leaders on Thursday began a diplomatic push in the Congolese capital Brazzaville aimed at bolstering efforts to end the Libyan crisis.

African Union leaders are expected to renew calls for greater involvement in efforts to resolve Libya‘s long-running conflict at a summit held on Thursday in the Republic of the Congo.

Earlier this week, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell spoke out in favour of the idea of resuming and re-shaping the joint naval mission Sophia, which was initially launched to stop human trafficking but was later limited to training the Libyan Coast Guard in 2019. While several countries have backed …

Turkey’s recent agreements with the Government of National Accord in Libya over maritime borders and the deployment of troops to the North African country, as well as its co-sponsorship with Russia of a ceasefire proposal, have revealed it to be a major player in the Libyan issue.