BENGHAZI, Libya (AP) — The signing of a U.N.-sponsored deal aiming to end Libya’s conflict by forming a unity government has been delayed by a day to Thursday, said Libyan members from the country’s two rival parliaments.
Hamid al-Bandag, a member in the internationally recognized parliament in the eastern city of Tobruk, and Saad Abu-Sharada, a member from the Islamic militia-backed General National Congress in the capital Tripoli, say final talks will be held Wednesday in Morocco to sort out last-minute details before the signing.
The U.N. deal has detractors on both sides. Abu-Sharada says the two heads of the rival parliaments are meeting Tuesday in Malta to forge a separate deal without U.N. involvement.
“It’s not clear whether that meeting will actually produce a government whereas the U.N. signature will actually endorse a government that has been already proposed,” said Mattia Toaldo, policy fellow on the European Council on Foreign Relations.
“It’s unclear whether the two speakers actually want an agreement or are organizing just a meeting to delay the approval of the U.N. deal,” said Toaldo. “Those joining the U.N. process are the moderates who have supported dialogue all along, whereas the two speakers have demonstrated over time to be hardliners.”
Libya has descended into factional violence following the 2011 toppling and killing of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. The chaos has opened the door to a surge of migrants and refugees who set off from its coast for Europe in often-rickety boats operated by smugglers. Many have died on the journey.
The Islamic State group also took advantage of the chaos, setting up a local affiliate which is now enlarging its territory inside Libya.
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