Despite a government ban on large gatherings to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, scores of demonstrators protested outside the Moroccan Parliament to denounce Arab countries agreeing o normalize ties with Israel.

Israel on Tuesday signed historic diplomatic pacts with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in a U.S.-brokered deal. Morocco was reported to be among other Arab countries considering a similar move, though the prime minister rejected the idea last month.

The European Union is set to announce sanctions on Monday against three companies from Turkey, Jordan and Kazakhstan which are accused of violating a U.N. arms embargo on Libya, diplomats told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Rival parties in Yemen's war opened U.N.-sponsored talks Friday aimed at an exchange deal for the release of more than 1,400 prisoners, the United Nations said.

The decision by the head of Libya's U.N.-recognized Government of National Accord to step down next month is "saddening," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday.

Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar announced Friday a conditional lifting of a months-long blockade on oilfields and ports by his forces.

Kuwait announced Thursday it would donate $20 million towards humanitarian aid for war-ravaged Yemen, two days after UN officials called the country for not honoring its pledges, diplomats said.

U.N.-sponsored talks on a prisoner exchange deal between Yemen's warring sides have been postponed by a day to Friday, according to a Yemeni government source.

Syria's oil minister claimed the severe fuel crisis that has hit his country is the result of Western sanctions, and also allegedly because oil fields in eastern regions have fallen under control of American troops and U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish fighters.

The minister, Bassam Tomeh told state TV in an interview aired late Wednesday that oil supplies have been delayed because of the situation. "We have stocks that we are trying to manage in a rational way," he said, without elaborating.

Russia said on Thursday it would be a "mistake" to think lasting peace in the Middle East could be secured without resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The head of Libya's UN-recognised Government of National Accord said Wednesday he planned to step down within six weeks as part of efforts to broker a peace agreement.

Libya has endured almost a decade of violent chaos since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed veteran dictator Moamer Kadhafi.