The Guardian newspaper said that the United Nations will try to restore national unity in Libya by bringing in observers to oversee the widely violated ceasefire and forcing the country’s fractured political leadership to find a mechanism to elect a new prime minister.
The newspaper cited United Nations officials as saying that Libya is in a race against time to achieve tangible progress towards forming a government of national unity and to avoid the possible collapse of the three-month ceasefire.
In a letter to member states, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on regional blocs to appoint a monitoring mission to oversee the ceasefire and arms embargo imposed by the United Nations, which has been repeatedly violated.
The newspaper pointed out that this is the first time that the United Nations has taken active steps on the ground to impose a ceasefire, beyond reports detailing how the arms embargo has been violated.
The move comes at a critical time since the ceasefire, which was agreed upon with the warring parties on October 23 in Geneva, and also includes forcing all foreign forces to leave Libya within three months, but there is no sign of this happening.
The UN Special Envoy, Stephanie Williams, said that there are 20,000 foreign soldiers or mercenaries in the country.
Dialogue Stalemate
The Guardian pointed out that Williams tried to seize the opportunity to convince the Libyan leadership of a political solution, and in November, a forum for Libyan political dialogue was held in Tunis, which included 75 members, in order to pave the way for the elections – now scheduled for December 24, 2021, the seventieth anniversary of Libya’s independence – and the formation of a temporary national government, including a prime minister.
Since then, the forum has reached a dead end around the voting threshold that could determine the identity of the new prime minister.
After 30 hours over the course of 6 online sessions, the forum has yet to reach an agreement, but Williams announced that 15-member committee will be formed to agree on a formula to choose the interim prime minister.
Williams, who previously described the established generation of Libyan politicians as “dinosaurs”, said Libya could no longer tolerate politics as a zero-sum game in which there were clear winners and losers.
The UN’s sense of urgency increased when Field Marshal Haftar, sensing a political vacuum, declared on December 24 that war with Turkey was imminent and the Libyans should prepare for it.
The Egyptian Visit
In a surprising development, a delegation of senior Egyptian diplomats and intelligence officials visited Tripoli on Sunday to meet with the leaders of the Government of National Accord, the first diplomatic contact between Egypt and the GNA since 2014.
It is worth noting that Egypt’s ambassador to Libya, Muhammad Abu Bakr, was a key participant in the delegation. His approach has always been to work with all parties and support the efforts of the United Nations.
The Guardian cited Peter Millett, the former British ambassador to Libya, as saying: “The voices of diplomacy have temporarily won in Cairo, and the Egyptians must rebuild their ties with the Government of National Accord.”
