Skhirat (Morocco): UN envoy to Libya Bernardino Leon urged rival Libyan lawmakers Friday to try to nail down a political agreement within days as they began a weekend of “decisive” talks.
Leon said talks over the next three days will focus on security arrangements, the creation of a national unity government and confidence building measures.
“By Sunday, we would like to have these three documents ready and if possible, published, as already agreed (as) part of what will be a final package,” he told reporters in Morocco where the talks are being held.
Leon warned that unrest in Libya and the deadly attack in neighbouring Tunisia claimed by Daesh that killed 20 tourists and a policeman “is another sign of alarm”.
“There is a sense of urgency and we believe this should be a decisive round,” Leon said in the resort of Skhirat near Rabat, urging both sides to work in a “spirit of compromise”.
The latest round of discussions had been delayed for several days in order to allow both sides to prepare, he said.
Libya has been plagued by chaos since the end of its 2011 revolt, with heavily armed militias battling for control of its cities and oil wealth and the rival parliaments and their governments vying for power.
The power vacuum has allowed jihadist groups to gain a toehold in the vast North African.
Daesh has claimed several attacks in Libya, including a January assault on a luxury Tripoli hotel that killed nine people, five of them foreigners, and the beheading in February of 21 Christians.
Leon has struggled to bring Libya’s rival parliaments closer together and warned Friday that failure by lawmakers to strike a deal could spell danger for Libya and the region.
“It’s not only about Libya but about the region, the wider region. But Libya is today a critical case. So, something has to be done regarding terrorism,” he said.
“And parties should be aware that this is the decisive movement and if they are not able to take the right decisions Libya will go back to war again and we know this is a war that nobody can win.”
