Libya Rivals Say They Will Sign U.N.-backed Peace Deal
Libya's rival parliaments will next week sign a U.N.-sponsored agreement on forming a national unity government, they announced Friday, as world leaders press them to end chaos in the country.
Salah el-Makhzoum, a vice president of the Tripoli-based parliament, called this a "happy day" in announcing that "the political accord will be signed on December 16."
An official of the internationally recognized parliament, Mohammed Choueib, said that "after lengthy efforts... we announce to our people that we have decided to move beyond this difficult period... and ask everyone to join us."
Choueib said the deal could be signed in Morocco, which hosted most of a year of talks brokered by U.N. envoy Leon Bernardino that led to the proposed deal in October.
But neither he nor Makhzoum said whether they would have to clear the signing with their respective legislative bodies, which had rejected the deal after their negotiating teams agreed to it in October.
And just Sunday, delegates from both sides announced they had reached a joint "declaration of principles" aimed at resolving a crisis after secret talks that did not include the U.N.
Under the U.N.-brokered deal, Libya would be governed by a nine-member presidential council comprising a prime minister, five deputy premiers and three senior ministers.
Libya descended into chaos following the 2011 ouster and killing of long-time strongman Moammar Gadhafi.
The oil-rich country has had rival administrations since August 2014, when an Islamist-backed militia alliance overran Tripoli, forcing the recognized government to take refuge in the east.
- 'End the chaos' -
Friday's announcement comes just two days before world leaders are set to gather in Rome to try to speed up the formation of a unity government in Libya, where chaos is fueling the rise of the Islamic State group.
It was not immediately clear how Friday's development might affect that meeting or its agenda.
Italy's Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni, due to co-chair the talks with U.S. counterpart John Kerry, has said the aim is a "decisive push" for a deal to help create stability, ease a dire humanitarian situation and smother a flourishing jihadist hotbed.
Kerry and Gentiloni will sit down with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and representatives from Britain, China and France, Germany, Spain as well as Algeria, Chad, Morocco, Niger, Qatar, Tunisia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.
"You can never repeat often enough the danger that the presence of Daesh represents for Libya," Tunisian PM Habib Essid said Friday on the sidelines of a Mediterranean security conference in Rome, using an Arabic acronym for IS.
Friday's announcement came on a second day of meetings in Tunis with Leon's successor, Martin Kobler.
- U.N. envoy 'very encouraged' -
Kobler said Thursday he felt "very encouraged" and had "big confidence in our meeting tomorrow (Friday) because we are going to define the messages for the meeting in Rome."
"The international community is very interested in this process, in particular the threat emanating from terrorism," he said.
"There must be a legitimate government very soon."
The U.N. estimates there are between 2,000 and 3,000 jihadist fighters in Libya, and local officials warn of hundreds of Tunisians, Sudanese or Nigerians traveling there for training.
On Tuesday, after the announcement of the separate "agreement in principle", ambassadors to Libya from several EU countries and the United States warned against attempts to derail the U.N.-brokered deal, insisting it was the only way forward.
They urged those who still oppose it to act "urgently and responsibly in the interests of the Libyan people, and to join the majority who want peace in unity under a stable and inclusive" national unity government.
It was not yet clear who would represent the rival factions in Rome.
European sources say the aim is to form a unity government by the end of the year, after which U.N. sanctions could be imposed to force an accord.
"There is an absolute emergency. Every week that passes is used by IS to try to make Libya a terrorist base," French European Affairs Minister Harlem Desir said Friday.
Italy's Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has been saying for months that the Islamist threat is as severe in Libya as in Syria, and that Rome is ready to take command of a military mission should the U.N. agree.
The country is also on the frontline of a migrant crisis, with Libya an unpoliced launchpad for people traffickers shipping desperate people across the Mediterranean.
But Renzi insisted Thursday he would "not play (war strategy board game) Risk to please commentators."
Source: Agence France Presse
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