UN envoy pushing Libya rivals to form new government

The United Nations is ramping up its diplomatic efforts in Libya to encourage the delegates of the country's rival administrations to sign a deal on the formation of a unity government, and thus end the growing insecurity in the North African nation.  

The UN Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Support Mission (UNSMIL) in Libya, Bernardino Leon held separate meetings between delegates of Libya's rival parliaments in Morocco Thursday.

Leon called on the negotiating teams to thrash out the full details of a unity government. The senior UN official also urged both sides to set their differences aside.

"The patience of Libyans is finished and the patience of the international community is finished," Leon said.

Meanwhile, diplomatic sources have confirmed that talks between representatives of the rival parliaments on forming a unity administration has resumed in the Moroccan resort of Skhirat.

The talks come days after an airstrike, blamed on the internationally recognized government, hit an airbase controlled by the rival administration in Tripoli. 

Libya Dawn, a militia group in Libya, took over Tripoli in the summer of 2014. It set up its own government and reinstated the General National Congress (GNC).

Several rounds of peace talks brokered by the United Nations have been held in recent months aimed at forming a unity government between the rival factions. The talks have failed to deliver any practical results so far.

On Monday, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) unanimously adopted a statement calling for the resumption of talks.

The UNSC urged the rival sides to “agree on arrangements on the formation of a national unity government to end Libya’s political, security and institutional crisis.”

It also warned that the UN body is “prepared to sanction those who threaten Libya’s peace, stability or security or that obstruct or undermine the successful completion of its political transition.”

On March 24, the UN mission in Libya unveiled a plan which calls for setting up a transitional unity government until a new constitution is adopted and elections are held.

Libya has two rival camps vying for the control of the country, with one governing Tripoli and the other, which is the internationally recognized government, controlling the eastern cities of Bayda and Tobruk, the latter being home to the House of Representatives.

The Arab country plunged into chaos following the 2011 uprising against the dictatorship of Muammar Gaddafi, whose ouster gave rise to a patchwork of heavily-armed militia groups and deep political divisions.

JR/GHN/HMV

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk