Libyen

The clock is ticking for the UN Special Representative to Libya, Abdoulaye Bathily, who must outline his plans before his window of opportunity snaps shut.

[…] EUBAM said the training not only helped build capacity and exchange experiences, but also provided ample opportunity to strengthen links between Libyan counter-terrorism authorities and global counter-terrorism efforts.

Efforts continue to get political leaders in Libya to overcome their differences so that long-awaited presidential and parliamentary elections can finally take place, the Security Council heard on Tuesday. UN Special Representative Abdoulaye Bathily briefed ambassadors on the ongoing impasse and other obstacles to the vote, which was postponed last December.

Libya’s Tripoli-based prime minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah signed two deals with Turkey’s defence minister on Tuesday (25 October), building on a 2019 agreement that angered European nations. … The 2019 deal had seen Turkey claim large and potentially gas-rich areas of the eastern Mediterranean, angering Greece, France and the EU.

The political stalemate continues in Libya and prospects for elections are dim, the head of the UN Mission there, UNSMIL, said on Monday in his first briefing to the Security Council. Abdoulaye Bathily arrived in the country this month and has been prioritizing consultations with political, institutional, security and civil society representatives, in a bid to address these challenges.

Foreign Minister Najla Al-Manqoush, received, on Wednesday, the Deputy Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), Rizdon Zeninga, to discuss the mission's agenda as its new head Abdoulaye Bathily prepares to start functioning from Libya.

Five people were killed and 13 wounded in gun battles in the western Libyan town of Zaouia, the latest unrest in the troubled North African nation, medics said Monday. Fighting late Sunday broke out between rival forces equipped with heavy weapons, with one group linked to defense ministry and the other to the interior ministry, local media reported.

Guterres strongly encourages world powers and countries that have interests in Libya to meet again in Berlin.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today announced the appointment of  Abdoulaye Bathily of Senegal as his Special Representative for Libya and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL). 

Libya is trapped in a degenerative cycle of war. Yet Europeans could use the current stalemate in the country to restart an electoral process that would end the cycle.