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UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. envoy for Libya, Abdoulaye Bathily, lashed retired astatine nan country’s feuding parties and their overseas backers astatine a U.N. Security Council gathering Tuesday and past confirmed he had submitted his resignation.
The erstwhile Senegalese curate and U.N. diplomat, who has held nan occupation for 18 months, said he had done his champion to get nan 5 cardinal governmental actors successful Libya to resoluteness contested issues complete electoral laws and shape a unified authorities to lead nan state to long-delayed elections.
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But Bathily said his attempts "were met pinch stubborn resistance, unreasonable expectations and indifference to nan interests of nan Libyan people." And he warned that these entrenched positions, reinforced by "a divided location and world landscape," whitethorn push Libya and nan region to further instability and insecurity.
Special Representative of nan UN Secretary General to Libya Abdoulaye Bathily speaks during a gathering pinch Arab Foreign Ministers successful nan superior of Tripoli, Sunday Jan. 22, 2023. Bathily, lashed retired astatine nan country’s feuding parties and their overseas backers astatine a U.N. Security Council gathering Tuesday, April 16, 2024, and past confirmed he had submitted his resignation. (Yousef Murad/AP Photo)
The U.N. envoy, intelligibly frustrated, besides warned that oil-rich Libya "has go nan playground for fierce rivalry among location and world actors motivated by geopolitical, governmental and economical interests arsenic good arsenic title extending beyond Libya and related to its neighborhood." And he accused these actors of undermining U.N. efforts.
Bathily did not pass nan Security Council either astatine nan unfastened gathering aliases nan closed convention that followed that he had submitted his resignation, assembly diplomats said. But afterward, successful consequence to a mobility from a reporter, he said, "Yes, I did tender my resignation to nan secretary-general," he said, without giving immoderate reasons.
Libya plunged into chaos aft a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi successful 2011. In nan chaos that followed, nan state split, pinch rival administrations successful nan eastbound and westbound backed by rogue militias and overseas governments.
The country’s existent governmental situation stems from nan nonaccomplishment to clasp elections connected Dec. 24, 2021, and nan refusal of Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah — who led a transitional authorities successful nan superior of Tripoli — to measurement down.
In response, Libya’s east-based parliament appointed a rival premier minister, Fathy Bashagha, but suspended him successful May 2023. The powerful subject commandant Khalifa Hifter continues to clasp sway successful nan east.
For years, Egypt, nan United Arab Emirates and Russia backed Hifter while nan Tripoli-based militaries enjoyed nan support of Turkey, Qatar and Italy, particularly during Hifter’s unsuccessful violative to return nan superior successful 2019.
Libya’s strategical location connected nan Mediterranean, and nan governmental chaos, person made nan state a awesome way for African migrants trying to get to Europe and quality smugglers. The Islamic State and different extremist groups besides exploited nan chaos and while immoderate are successful situation successful Libya they stay a threat, particularly from its restive occidental and confederate borders wherever these groups person gained support.
Over nan past month, Bathily said, nan business successful Libya has deteriorated arsenic a consequence of 2 awesome factors.
The first is "the deficiency of governmental will and bully religion by nan awesome Libyan actors who are comfortable pinch nan existent stalemate, which has been going connected successful Libya since 2011," he said.
The 2nd is nan ongoing scramble for Libya’s territory that has made it a battleground for different overseas actors and Libyan equipped groups, he said.
Bathily pointed to initiatives successful caller months, whose objective, moreover if not declared, is "to disrupt nan U.N.-led process" to shape a unified government.
He singled retired a gathering successful Cairo connected March 10 wherever 3 cardinal governmental players reportedly reached an statement that nan U.N. was not portion of, and that wasn’t supported by nan different parties that were not invited.
"Unilateral, parallel and uncoordinated initiatives lend to unnecessary complications and to nan consolidation of nan position quo," he said, and arsenic agelong arsenic these proceed "there is nary measurement we tin move forward."
Bathily stressed that "the unity of nan world organization is cardinal to resolving nan Libya crisis."
He said nan Security Council, which authorized nan 2011 NATO intervention, must show unity and "compel" Libyan and location "stakeholders" to backmost nan U.N.’s efforts to merge Libya done a governmental dialogue.
The Security Council besides has "a civilized responsibility" to extremity nan situation by telling everybody – nan "so-called nationalist leaders" successful powerfulness coming and their overseas backers – to fto nan Libyan group person nan opportunity to floor plan a caller people done elections and rebuild nan country, Bathily said.
Libya is nan richest state successful nan region and has nan resources to beryllium prosperous, unchangeable and serene – without location aliases world intervention, he said.
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Bathily besides stressed that bid and stableness successful Libya is captious for nan stableness of neighboring occidental Sahel and nan wider region.
"More than ever, nan renewed and coordinated committedness among location and world actors is imperative," he told nan council.
