Libya

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.

[…] The 15-member UN Security Council needs to agree by consensus to the appointment of Abdoulaye Bathily as the UN special envoy for Libya. … Bathily would replace Jan Kubis, who stepped down in December. Guterres had informally proposed two other people to fill the role, but the Security Council could not agree.

Leaders in Libya must take immediate steps to resolve their political impasse, which is spilling over into increasing violence, UN political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo told the Security Council on Tuesday. 

Libya's capital was quiet early Sunday, a day after the worst fighting there for two years killed 32 people and injured 159 as forces aligned with a parliament-backed administration failed to dislodge the Tripoli-based government.

[… ] Concerns about the deteriorating living conditions of Libyans in all parts of the country, exacerbated by the oil production shutdowns, are linked to the lack of access to basic services that are fundamental human rights..