Libya

[…] Natalina Cea was appointed Head of Mission of the EU Border Assistance Mission (EUBAM) in Libya. She will take up her duties on 1 February 2021 succeeding Vincenzo Tagliaferri, who has been Head of Mission since 1 September 2016.

Officials from Libya’s rival governments met for talks aimed at unifying the national budget, another step forward in efforts to end the years-long conflict in the oil-rich North African nation.

[…] The call came in a letter he addressed to the Member States of the Security Council in which he called for the formation of a monitoring committee comprising civilians and retired military personnel from international bodies such as the African Union, the European Union and the Arab League.

The 20,000 foreign fighters now in Libya represent “a serious crisis” and “a shocking violation of Libyan sovereignty”, UN Acting Special Representative Stephanie Williams said on Wednesday, during the latest meeting under the country’s political dialogue forum. Seventy-five people from across the social and political spectrum of Libyan society are taking part in the forum, aimed at establishing a transitional body that will govern the country in the lead-up to elections next year.  

Libya’s rivals have begun a second round of talks on a mechanism to choose a transitional government that would lead the conflict-stricken country to elections in December next year, according to the United Nations.

Turkey protested to Germany and the EU on Monday after German forces belonging to an EU military mission boarded and tried to search a Turkish cargo ship that they suspected of taking weapons to Libya illegally.

An October ceasefire agreement says all military units and armed groups must withdraw from the frontlines while mercenaries and foreign fighters must Libya within 90 days.

The agreement follows UN-sponsored talks held in Brega with the head of the National Oil Corporation.

National elections in Libya will take place on 24 December 2021, Stephanie Williams, the head of the UN mission in the country, announced on Friday during a virtual press conference. The announcement came a week after talks began in the Tunisian capital, Tunis, aimed at creating an executive authority capable of organizing elections and implementing political, economic and military reforms.

Libyan delegates have agreed on a plan to hold elections for parliament and president within 18 months as part of a process to end a decade of violence and instability in the country. Acting U.N. Libya envoy Stephanie Williams called the development a “breakthrough.”