All eyes on Tobruk, Tripoli representatives hoping for agreement on UN proposal

Foreign Affairs Minister George Vella hopes the warring factions in strife-torn Libya will reach an agreement this week on a presidential council as proposed by the United Nations.

The rival factions are expected to announce their decision on Wednesday, although it is also likely that a request could be made to allow more time for discussions on the proposal.

UN special envoy Bernardino Leon has proposed a council headed by a president and including two deputies and independent personalities not belonging to any party or affiliated with any group.

He also proposed endorsing the eastern House of Representatives as legitimate, a proposal which may not be so easily accepted by the Tripoli-based remnants of the General National Congress (GNC).

Libyan News Agency (LANA) reported that US Ambassador Deborah Jones and UK Ambassador Micheal Aron, who were in Morocco attending the Libyan dialogue, exerted pressure on the GNC delegation to persuade them to recognise the legitimacy of the Tobruk-based parliament, in order for the dialogue to move forward.

Earlier this week, a decision by the Congress to sack its prime minister, Omar al Hassi, was considered to be a step in the right direction for the peace talks. Al Hassi was dismissed, amid accusations of failing to tackle corruption and of misleading parliament about government finances.

 “There are a lot of loose ends but the focus remains the setting up of a government of national unity,” George Vella told MaltaToday, admitting that this was mostly dependent on the representatives of the Tripoli and the Tobruk political-military coalitions.

Although a national unity government may not necessarily involve all representatives of the Libyan factions, a single legislative body that enjoys the support of the two main rival factions would allow the country to seek assistance from the European Union and the United Nations.

“Once a legitimate body is in place, accepted by both sides, it will have the moral power to ask for help. The EU and the UN will then be authorised to cooperate with the legal body,” Vella said.

While the European Union stands ready to help Libya in terms of policing and securitisation operations, providing humanitarian assistance, Leon urged Libyan officials to transit from aspirations for a peaceful Libya to “real achievement”.

The meeting, which brought together representatives of Libyan municipalities and local councils, included Federica Mogherini, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

A determining factor in the peace talks was the position taken by the western city of Misrata and its mayor’s participation in the talks in Brussels. His presence was welcomed as an indication that Misrata – a city that holds a considerable degree of autonomy in its economic, political and security interests – would support the formation of a government of national unity. 

The peace talks led by the United Nations Support Mission in Libya started registering progress when it became more evident that instability in Libya allowed Islamist extremism to rear its head across the North African country: in January, a suicide bombing and gun attack at the Corinthia Hotel in Tripoli killed 10 people. The attack was claimed by ISIS.

In February, 21 Egyptian Copts in Libya were beheaded.

Libya’s foreign minister, Mohammed al Dairi, warned that over 5,000 foreign fighters have flocked to Libya to join the ranks of radical Islamist groups.

In comments to The Libya Herald, al Dairi said that many “terrorist leaders” were joining terror groups such as ISIS and Ansar al-Sharia.

Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi said that he had accepted oaths of allegiance from supporters in Libya: Derna was the first Libyan city to swear its allegiance to the IS leader.

Unconfirmed reports have now surfaced claiming that Ansar al-Sharia’s leader, Abu Abdullah al-Libi pledged loyalty to al-Baghdadi as well.