TRIPOLI, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Libya's UN-backed Prime Minister Fayez Serraj on Monday welcomed a peace treaty reached between the cities of Misurata and Tawergha, which allows residents of Tawergha to return home after seven years of displacement.
Serraj said in a statement that the only solution to the current crisis is national reconciliation based on "tolerance, reparation, and prevailing of the high interest of the country."
The peace treaty signed on Sunday allows nearly 40,000 Tawerghans to return to their homes in Misurata. The displacement was due to their support for the former government during the 2011 uprising.
The peace treaty prohibits crimes in the two cities, which are 40 km apart, while calling for cooperation in searching for missing people and mass graves.
Misurata, Libya's third-largest city with a population of half a million, played a major role in overthrowing the former leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The city is also one of the most militarized cities with the largest armed militia in the country.
In August 2016, Misurata and Tawergha signed a UN-sponsored draft reconciliation agreement, which allowed the return of many displaced Tawerghans.
However, the return was halted after armed groups in Misurata refused entry for Tawerghans over various reasons.
