TRIPOLI, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Head of the UN Support Mission in Libya, Ghassan Salame, on Tuesday confirmed that the mission plans to replace the armed groups in Libya's capital Tripoli with a joint force.
Salame made his remarks during a meeting with military and field commanders of the city of Misurata, some 250 km east of Tripoli.
"We're trying to replace the armed groups in Tripoli with a joint force. The capital is for all Libyans, and so any and every Libyan must be able to access it in safety," Salame said.
"The mission played an important role in reaching a cease-fire and reviving institutions, such as the Security Arrangements Committee, the Joint Operations Center, and the Ministry of Interior," said Salame.
"We want this experiment succeed in Tripoli to be circulated to all Libyan cities," he added.
Tripoli witnessed weeks of violent clashes between forces allied with the government and other armed groups in August, causing hundreds of casualties, before the Ministry of Interior announced a cease-fire agreement between the rival parties that ended the violence.
The agreement required the warring parties not to attack public or private properties and refrains them from inciting violence.
The agreement also stipulated that a joint military force will be formed to secure southern Tripoli, while withdrawal of armed groups from conflict areas should be overseen by the tribal mediators.
Libya has been suffering insecurity and escalating violence since the fall of former leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011.
