Libya

Leaders in Libya must resolve outstanding issues so that long-awaited presidential and parliamentary elections can finally be held, UN political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo told the Security Council on Monday.

The UN Security Council is expected to renew the mandate of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) by the end of July 2022. Deliberations on UNSMIL’s mandate are unfolding amid a protracted political impasse.

The United Nations said Thursday it will broker new talks between rival institutions from war-torn Libya next week to try to break a deadlock on the rules for long-awaited elections.

Libya's parliament-appointed Prime Minister Fathi Bashagha said on Wednesday his government supported removing all foreign forces and mercenaries from Libya, guided by a committee set up to safeguard a ceasefire after the 2014-2020 conflict.

The Libyan constitutional talks between the House of Representatives (HoR) and High Council of State (HCS) in Cairo kicked off its third and final round on Sunday in the presence of UN Advisor on Libya, Stephanie Williams, who reiterated that there's no room for any failure this time.

The intense fighting involved two influential militias from western Libya, according to local media, which identified armed groups as the Nawasi Brigade – a militia loyal to politician Fathi Bashagha – and the Stability Support Force, which backs interim premier Abdul Hamid Dbeibah.

The UN Advisor on Libya Stephanie Williams met with the Head of the High Council of State (HCS) Khalid Al-Mishri to discuss plans for the upcoming, final round of the Joint HCS and House of Representatives (HoR) Committee talks due to begin in Cairo on June 12.

For many Libyans, clashes that erupted in the capital of Tripoli last month were all too familiar — a deja vu of street fighting, reverberating gunfire and people cowering inside their homes. … The fighting underscored the fragility of Libya’s relative peace that has prevailed for more than a year but it also looked like history was repeating itself. Now, observers say that momentum to reunify the country has been lost and that its future is looking grim.

Despite UN efforts, political, economic and security deadlock continues in Libya, the UN political affairs chief told the Security Council on Thursday, adding that human rights there have also deteriorated.

Clashes erupted in Libya's capital on Tuesday as the parliament-appointed prime minister, Fathi Bashagha, tried to take control of government from a rival administration that has refused to cede power.