Italy's premier Giuseppe Conte on Tuesday called for support for the fragile United Nations brokered truce between the militias in Tripoli during his address in Palermo to an international conference on stabilising Libya.
"I believe it is crucial to seize this chance to back the ceasefire in Tripoli," Conte told the plenary session of the two-day meeting which wraps up on Tuesday.
The Palermo conference is also an opportunity to take forward discussions on regular Libyan security forces to replace "a system based on armed groups" Conte said.
"At this meeting, the international community can also express concrete support for the creation and deployment of regular security forces," he said.
Conte said Italy and other nations are willing to help train “regular army and police units" envisaged under a security plan issued by Libya's UN-backed unity government in late October, which aims to replace the militias that hold sway in Tripoli.
"The objective now is to swiftly activate this plan," Conte stated.
A total of 38 delegations are believed to be taking part in the two-day meeting which wraps up on Tuesday. Many of Libya's main political factions are understood to be attending as well as high-ranking officials from key nations and organisations including the African Union, European Union, Arab League, Word Bank and International Monetary Fund.
