Subscribe free to our newsletters via your




WAR REPORT
Libya rivals 'positive' on peace draft
By Jalal Al Makhfi
Skhirat, Morocco (AFP) June 9, 2015


Libya's warring factions have reacted positively to a draft peace agreement, the UN envoy said Tuesday, as they head for talks in Berlin with world powers anxious for an end to the conflict.

Libya descended into chaos after a 2011 NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed veteran dictator Moamer Kadhafi, with heavily armed former rebels carving out fiefdoms across the country.

The quest for a deal seeks to prevent the oil-rich and strategic North African nation from crumbling into a failed state.

Bernardino Leon, chief of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya, presented the draft to delegations from the country's rival sides at talks in Morocco late Monday.

With strong support from world leaders, he is pushing for a final accord before the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on June 17.

"We have distributed, as you will have seen, a new proposed agreement. All I can tell you for now is that the reaction is positive," Leon told journalists.

"We are looking at the possibility of a triple consensus -- within Libyan society, among the participants in the dialogue and also the international community."

He said there was "sense of optimism" emerging from the talks, but warned that no agreement would work without the backing of armed groups in Libya.

"The security track is important. We need strong support from the armed formations... We will not succeed if we don't have their support," Leon said.

The Spanish diplomat had spent Tuesday morning shuttling between the negotiating teams to gauge their response.

"Then we will all head to Berlin to meet European leaders and member countries of the UN Security Council," UN mission spokesman Samir Ghattas told AFP, without saying whom they would meet.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has invited them to Berlin to continue talks Wednesday with Leon as well as meet diplomats from the UN Security Council's permanent five members, plus Italy, Spain and the European Union, his ministry said.

G7 leaders have thrown their support behind Leon's efforts to persuade the factions to forge a united administration to replace the rival governments in the capital Tripoli and Tobruk.

In a closing statement after a summit in Germany, the G7 called on Libyan leaders to take "bold political decisions" to end four years of devastating conflict.

It said it would "provide significant support" to help a new government rebuild infrastructure, including restoring public services and strengthening the economy.

Jihadist groups have exploited the lawlessness, which has also prompted a huge influx of migrants trying to make the dangerous crossing to Europe, with shipwrecks leaving hundreds dead and the European Union straining to respond.

- Draft plan -

The draft agreement put forward Monday is the fourth, with three previous rounds of negotiations failing to deliver a deal.

The 69-article plan provides for the formation of a transitional government of national unity for a period of one year, renewable for one more year.

It stipulates that the parliament elected last June, most of whose members back the internationally recognised government in Tobruk, should be the legislative authority for the interim period.

But it also provides for the formation of a high council of state, drawn mostly from members of the rival parliament in Tripoli, which "shall express binding opinion with a qualified majority on draft laws".

The two sides would commit to the integration of their opposing militias into a reformed military under direct government control with former rebel fighters offered the opportunity to join up or be reintegrated into civilian life.

The agreement sets out interim security arrangements for the withdrawal of armed formations from towns and cities and a timetable for disarming.

"The government of national accord, through its different relevant institutions, including the army and police, shall take the necessary steps to combat terrorist threats in Libya," the draft says.

Some members of the internationally recognised parliament based in the eastern city of Tobruk, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there is still disagreement on at least two points in the draft. They did not elaborate.

Both administrations have been fighting loyalists of the Islamic State group, which has taken several coastal towns to the alarm of an international community fearful of a jihadist foothold on Europe's doorstep.

IS, which controls swathes of Syria and Iraq, has won the loyalty of several Islamist groups in Libya and claimed responsibility for a series of attacks and atrocities, including the killings of dozens of Egyptian and Ethiopian Christians.


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








WAR REPORT
49 dead in Syria regime raid in Idlib province: monitor
Beirut (AFP) June 8, 2015
At least 49 civilians, including six children, were killed on Monday in Syrian government air strikes on a town in Idlib province in the country's northwest, a monitoring group said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the raids hit a square in the town of Al-Janudiyah, in the west of the province, which is now almost completely controlled by opposition forces. "It's a public sq ... read more


WAR REPORT
Japan body searchers return to volcano, eight months on

Nepal parties reach long-awaited charter deal after quake

Crossing minefields to get to school in Colombia

China ship tragedy toll above 400, relatives and workers remember dead

WAR REPORT
Russia, China Plan to Equip Commercial Trucks With Glonass, BeiDou

GLONASS to Go on Stream in 2015

Satellites make a load of difference to bridge safety

Advanced Navigation Releases Interface and Logging Unit

WAR REPORT
Cooking up cognition

Chimpanzee flexibly use facial expressions and vocalizations

World's last tribes on collision course with modern society

Out of Africa via Egypt

WAR REPORT
Do cheaters have an evolutionary advantage?

A smelling bee?

Researchers observe polar bears eating dolphins, freezing leftovers

Kenya wildlife rangers launch secure radios to outwit poachers

WAR REPORT
Woman isolated in Hong Kong hospital over MERS

HIV's sweet tooth is its downfall

US military confirms more anthrax blunders

Pentagon admits wider problem with anthrax shipments

WAR REPORT
China cites 'tremendous' human rights progress in report

China's miniature homemakers cut down to size

Far from the madding crowd: China's rich seek own islands

China's new tech giants show old bias with porn stars

WAR REPORT
Polish bootcamp trains security contractors for mission impossible

A blast and gunfire: Mexico's chopper battle

WAR REPORT
HSBC unveils radical overhaul to axe up to 50,000 jobs

China economy shows more weakness as imports, exports fall

China manufacturing index at six-month high but strains remain

Bernanke blames Congress as China flexes economic muscles




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.