UN urges Libya warring factions to compromise
The UN special envoy to Libya has called on the warring factions to work for melting down differences in the upcoming round of talks in Morocco and bring back stability to the country.
The talks over the next few days will revolve around security arrangements, the creation of a national unity government and confidence building measures, Bernardino Leon said in the Moroccan coastal town of Skhirat on Friday.
“By Sunday (March 22), we would like to have these three documents ready and if possible, published, as already agreed (as) part of what will be a final package,” the UN official added.
He further noted that there was “another sign of alarm” in the recent fatal shooting attack in Tunisia.
The Tunisian government stated on Friday that the two gunmen who killed 21 people at the National Bardo Museum in Tunis on March 18 were trained in Libya.
“There is a sense of urgency and we believe this should be a decisive round,” Leon said, urging both sides to work in a “spirit of compromise.”
Libya has two rival governments vying for control of the oil-rich country, with one controlling the capital, Tripoli, and the other, which is internationally recognized, governing the cities of Bayda and Tobruk in the east.
“It’s not only about Libya but about the region, the wider region. But Libya is today a critical case. So, something has to be done regarding terrorism,” the UN special envoy said, adding, “And parties should be aware that this is the decisive movement, and if they are not able to take the right decisions, Libya will go back to war again and we know this is a war that nobody can win.”
The internationally recognized government in eastern Libya had no representative in the Skhirat talks. It said it needed another week to prepare for the negotiations.
The two sides have so far held several rounds of UN-brokered peace talks that have failed to deliver any practical results.
Libya plunged into chaos following the 2011 uprising against the dictatorship of Muammar Gaddafi. The ouster of Gaddafi gave rise to a patchwork of heavily-armed militias and deep political divisions.
The country has been witnessing numerous clashes between forces loyal to the internationally recognized government and rival factions, which refuse to lay down arms.
In summer 2014, one faction, Libya Dawn, took over the capital, setting up its own government and reinstating the old parliament. The armed group itself is based in the city of Misrata.
IA/HSN/SS
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