Libya

EU foreign minister decided on Monday to revive a maritime surveillance mission in the Mediterranean to enforce a potential cease-fire in Libya and a UN arms embargo against the country’s warring parties. Meanwhile, the bloc is scrambling to avoid being drawn into a conflict that threatens to destabilise the whole of the Mediterranean.

"Our message is clear: No one can win this conflict militarily," the German foreign minister said before heading to the north African country. The pressure is high ahead of an international peace summit in Berlin.

Libyan field marshal Khalifa Haftar left Moscow on Tuesday without signing a ceasefire agreement aimed at ending nine months of fighting, leaving the future of a fragile truce uncertain. The commander’s abrupt departure in the early hours of January 14 was a setback for an international diplomatic push in recent days, though Moscow insisted it would continue mediation efforts.

Ankara and Moscow have called on the warring parties in Libya to reach a cease-fire agreement by midnight Jan. 12. The call, made in a joint statement by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin, is a clear signal that neither power wants to lurch into confrontation in the oil-rich North African state where they are supporting opposing sides.

Forces aligned with Libya's internationally recognized Government of National Accord said on Tuesday they had withdrawn from the strategic coastal city of Sirte to avoid bloodshed, after their eastern rivals rapidly entered it and took control.

The top UN official in Libya has delivered a stern message urging other nations to stop intervening in the country’s ongoing crisis.

The United Nations Security Council will meet behind closed doors on Monday about the situation in Libya, as Turkish troops began deploying to the country in a bid to shore up the UN-recognised government in Tripoli. The meeting, held at Russia's request, is formally focused on an international conference on Libya that Germany hopes to organise by month's end. So far, no date for the meeting has been announced.

The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), on Sunday strongly condemned the bombing of a military academy in the capital Tripoli, which according to news reports left at least 30 dead and more than 30 others wounded.

Turkey's parliament has approved a bill to deploy troops to Libya in support of the embattled United Nations-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA), paving the way for increased military cooperation despite criticism from opposition lawmakers.