Libyan factions sign UN peace deal

Gen Haftar urges end to arms embargo

SKHIRAT, Morocco, Dec 17, (RTRS); Delegates from Libya’s warring factions signed a UN-brokered agreement to form a national government on Thursday, a deal that Western powers hope will bring stability and help fight a growing Islamic State presence.

Four years after Muammar Gaddafi’s fall, Libya is deeply fractured with two rival governments — a selfdeclared one in Tripoli and an internationally recognized one in the east — each backed by coalitions of former rebels and militias.

The UN deal calls for a presidential council to lead a unified government, but hardliners in both factions reject it and questions remain about how it will be implemented in country where rival armed factions are key to power.

Chants of “Libya, Libya” erupted as representatives from both parliaments signed the accord along with local councils and political parties in the Moroccan coastal town of Skhirat, after more than a year of hard-scrabble negotiations.

“The doors remain wide open to those who are not here today,” UN envoy Martin Kobler said at the ceremony attended by regional foreign ministers. “The signing of the political agreement is only the first step.”

Western officials believe war fatigue, promises of foreign aid, the strain on Libya’s oil economy and the common threat of Islamic State will help build momentum for the national government and bring onboard opponents.

Meanwhile, Libya’s Gen Khalifa Haftar, who leads forces allied to the country’s recognized government, called for an end to an arms embargo to help fight Islamist militants after holding talks with the UN envoy on a peace agreement.

Haftar, a former ally of Gaddafi before his 2011 ouster, has become one of the most divisive figures among the rival armed factions in Libya, where two competing governments and their military forces are battling for control.