UNITED NATIONS: The U.N. Security Council on Wednesday endorsed a U.N.-brokered agreement among Libya’s warring factions to form a national unity government, a deal Western powers hope will bring stability and help to combat a growing Islamic State presence.
The unanimously adopted resolution, drafted by Britain, made clear that Libya’s future unity government should be the sole representative for the North African country, where competing governments have long vied for power.
Four years after Muammar Gaddafi’s fall, Libya is deeply fractured, with a self-declared government in Tripoli and an internationally recognized one in the east, each backed by coalitions of former rebels and militias. Hardliners in both Libyan factions reject the peace deal.
Matthew Rycroft, Britain’s U.N. ambassador, welcomed the adoption of the resolution and urged all those in Libya who have not embraced the Libyan peace deal to do so.
“The door is open and the hand of friendship extended,” Rycroft said.
U.N. diplomats and officials said privately they are very worried that the precarious agreement in Libya could fall apart in the coming days or weeks.
The resolution said the council welcomed the formation of the so-called Presidency Council in Libya and urged it to a form a unity government within 30 days as called for in last week’s agreement.
It also urged the Presidency Council to finalize interim security arrangements necessary for bringing stability to Libya and called on U.N. member states to “respond urgently to requests for assistance” from Libya’s unity government.
The chiefs of the two rival parliaments already have rejected the U.N. deal and wanted for more time to negotiate a Libyan initiative, though diplomats say both men could face international sanctions for blocking a vote on the agreement.
(Reporting by Louis Charbonneau; Editing by Will Dunham)
Reuters
