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Libya rivals announce unity government as part of UN-backed plan Libya rivals announce unity government as part of UN-backed plan
(about 2 hours later)
Rival Libyan factions have announced a unity government aimed at stemming the chaos that has engulfed the country since a 2011 uprising toppled Muammar Gaddafi. Representatives of Libya’s rival factions have formed a unity government aimed at stemming the chaos that has engulfed the country.
The Unity Presidential Council said it had agreed on a 32-member cabinet with members drawn from across the country, as part of a UN-backed process. The Unity Presidential Council, which has been negotiating through a UN-brokered process, agreed on a 32-member cabinet made up of representatives from across the country. Whether that government will be able to govern the country remains to be seen.
The council includes representatives from Libya’s two rival parliaments – one which meets in the capital, Tripoli, and the other in the far east – as well as delegates from other factions.
Related: UN security council backs Libya unity accordRelated: UN security council backs Libya unity accord
Other members of the main factions have rejected the UN process. Libya slid into chaos in 2011 when Muammar Gaddafi was toppled and killed. Its divisions have increased since 2014 when the country split into two governments and parliaments – the internationally recognised one in the east, and an Islamist-backed one in the capital, Tripoli.
It was not clear where the new government would be based or whether it could govern the oil-rich north African country. The Unity Presidential Council meets in neighbouring Tunisia. Each side is backed by an array of militias. Amid the chaos, a Libyan Islamic State affiliate has prospered, claiming responsibility for a series of deadly attacks as it tries to expand its territory and take control of oilfields and terminals, the sole source of Libya’s wealth.
Since the Nato-backed revolt ousted Gaddafi, the turmoil in Libya has deepened, with the two rival governments and a range of armed factions locked in a struggle for control of the Opec state and its oil wealth. In December, representatives from the rival parliaments signed a UN-brokered deal to form the unity government and established the Unity Presidential Council. The Tunisia-based council includes some members from the rival parliaments and governments, as well as delegates from other factions. But other members of the two main factions have rejected the UN plan.
In the chaos, Islamic State militants have grown in strength. Earlier this month, they claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing of a Libyan police training centre that killed at least 47 people. They now control the city of Sirte and are targeting Tripoli and the country’s oil infrastructure. According to the deal, the new government should be based in Tripoli but it is not clear if the current Tripoli-based authorities opposing the deal would allow it to operate in peace. Recently, a Tripoli-based premier threatened the use of force against a security committee seeking to secure a venue for the new government.
The head of the council – Fayez Sarraj, who is also supposed to be the prime minister – has struggled to form the unity government, which has 10 days to win the internationally recognised parliament’s endorsement.
The cabinet’s line-up shows that Sarraj has tried to bring together opponents, a tactic that could lead to fresh bickering.
The designated defence minister, Al-Mahdi al-Barghathi, is one of eastern Libya’s army commanders. He has been fighting a coalition of Islamic extremists, including the local Isis affiliate in the eastern city of Benghazi. He answers to the army chief, General Khalifa Hifter, one of Libya’s strongmen and a divisive figure because of his enmity with Islamists of all shades, including the relatively moderate Muslim Brotherhood.
The designated interior minister, Al-Aref al-Khoga, held the same post with the Tripoli-based government and is known to have close ties with Islamists. The designated information minister, Khaled Nejm, served in that role in the current government based in eastern Libya. He is also a federalist, advocating a semi-autonomous region in the east.
Sarraj’s council is also supposed to name the army chief, but that has been another divisive issue. Hifter is despised by the Tripoli-based administration.