The internationally recognized government of Libya has refused to endorse the UN peace deal offering power-sharing with rival Islamists, prompting serious concerns over future of this North African country and risks of escalation of violence.A spokesperson for the internationally recognized parliament said the Tobruk lawmakers will not sign the agreement to form a unity government because the UN refused to drop amendments added by the Islamist authorities.
The amendments that irked the Tobruk lawmakers would have given the unity government the power to fire all senior Libyan officials not unanimously approved by its members. The Tobruk government saw this as an attempt to remove their fiercely anti-Islamist army chief, General Khalifa Hifter, whose forces have been battling Islamist militias nationwide for over a year.
This new hurdle will undermine months of tough negotiations conducted by the UN envoy for Libya Bernardino Leon with the North African country’s two rival governments.
| So Bernie: you didn't know that the Tobruk faction would reject this? |
In a joint statement released on Monday, the Foreign Ministers of Algeria, France, Germany, Italy, Morocco, Qatar, Spain, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs called upon all parties to the Libyan Political Dialogue to immediately approve the political agreement brokered by UN Special Representative Leon following the meetings of the parties in Skhirat and Geneva.
“We urge all participants in the dialogue to seize the opportunity to end this instability by approving, and faithfully implementing, the political agreement without introducing further amendments,” the Foreign Ministers said, pointing out that the parties to the dialogue face a stark choice. “They can delay approval of the text and annexes beyond October 20 or attempt to make further amendments, and put at risk the stability of the country.”
| That worked well... |