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The United Nations on Tuesday voiced concern amid increasing tensions between rival Libyan factions in the war-torn country.

The U.N.'s mission UNSMIL said it was "following with deep concern the ongoing mobilisation of forces and threats to resort to force" by groups vying for control of the North African country.

Oil-rich Libya has been wracked by conflict since a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. The country was split by rival administrations, one in the east-backed putschist Gen. Khalifa Haftar and a U.N.-supported administration in the capital of Tripoli in the west. Each side is supported by different militias and foreign powers.

In April 2019, Haftar and his forces, backed by Egypt, Russia and the United Arab Emirates, launched an offensive trying to capture Tripoli. His campaign collapsed after Turkey stepped up its military support for the U.N.-supported government.

An October 2020 cease-fire accord led to an agreement on a transitional government in early February 2021 headed by Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah and to the scheduling of elections for last Dec. 24. But the elections werent held.

A long-running political crisis deepened in February when an eastern-based parliament picked former interior minister Fathi Bashagha to replace the government of Abdul Hamid Dbeibah.

But Dbeibah, the interim premier appointed last year as part of a United Nations-backed peace process to end more than a decade of violence in the North African country, has refused to hand over power before elections.

In its statement on Tuesday, UNSMIL warned that "the current political stalemate ... cannot be resolved through armed confrontation."

It called for an "immediate de-escalation" said that "the use of force by any party is not acceptable" and would not lead to international recognition.

Bashagha told Agence France-Presse (AFP) last month that Dbeibah's government is "illegitimate", arguing that "its mandate is over and it failed to make elections happen".

On Tuesday, Bashagha's office issued a statement urging "Libyan men of honour" to drop their support for Dbeibah's "obsolete and illegitimate" administration.

That sparked fears of renewed conflict in the capital Tripoli between backers of the two sides.

Bashagha, despite his appointment by the parliament elected in 2014, has been unable to impose his authority in Tripoli, initially ruling out the use of force.

More recently he has hinted that he could resort to force.

Last month, the most deadly clashes between rival groups in Tripoli since 2020 left 16 people dead including a child.

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UN concerned over increasing tensions between Libyan rival groups | Daily Sabah - Daily Sabah

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The United States is deeply concerned by renewed threats of violent confrontation in Tripoli and calls for immediate de-escalation by all sides. The vast majority of Libyans seek to choose their leadership peacefully through elections. We call on those who risk once again being dragged into violence to put down their arms and in particular urge Libyas leaders to recommit themselves without delay to identifying a constitutional basis for presidential and parliamentary elections. The ongoing instability is a reminder of the urgent need for the appointment of a new UN Special Representative of the Secretary General for Libya to resume mediation efforts, with unified support from the international community. The United States will amplify our calls for calm and recommitment to elections during the August 30 UN Security Council briefing and consultations on Libya.

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U.S. Renews Calls for De-escalation in Libya - United States Department of State - Department of State

The Director the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture in Tripoli, Faraj Drebeel, has met with the Greek Consul in Libya, Achilles Rakinas, in the presence of the Director of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation of the Chamber, Tariq Al-Samoui, to discuss the necessary arrangements for the visit of a Libyan business delegation to the Greek capital, Athens.

The meeting also discussed the programme of the expected visit with the participation of a number of businessmen and investors affiliated with the Chamber, and the organization of bilateral meetings in sectors of common interest, and visits to a number of Greek economic and commercial institutions.

The two sides stressed the importance of enhancing communication between the private sectors of the two countries, organizing joint economic events with the aim of exchanging expertise between the two sides, identifying investment and trade opportunities in both countries, and implementing joint projects that would contribute to raising the level of trade exchange and achieving economic diversification.

Read more from the original source:
Libyan businessmen to visit Greece - The Libya Observer

A delegation representing components of the south has threatened to form a parallel government similar to other existing governments, or to demand UN intervention if the rights of the southern region, which they outlined in a set of basic demands, were not met.

In a forum held in the presence of the Deputy Prime Minister, ministers of labour, finance, culture, environment and social affairs and the undersecretary of the ministry of foreign affairs, it stressed that their demands are to respect and appreciate ministers of the south and support them perform their duties to the fullest.

It also called for including the souths representatives to the 5 + 5 Joint Military Committee, just like other regions, and assign the position of the speaker of parliament to the south, and all other positions assigned to the southern region, whether at the High Court or Presidential Council, based on the political accord.

It called for withdrawal of all people of the south from the current conflicting parties, and that the south be an instrument of peace not war, as they put it.

The delegation further pressed for assigning the Attorney General to investigate incidents of bribery, royalties, security breaches, high crime rate, to open offices to receive complaints, and to provide the souths full needs of fuel, roads, maintenance and all services that affect the citizen in Fezzan.

In a clear reference to the forces affiliated with Haftars sons, the delegation pointed out that the military claiming to be the guardian of Fezzan and its security should go and protect the countrys borders rather than imposing royalties and collecting scrap metal.

Fezzan Municipal Council also met on Saturday, in Sabha, calling on the Government of National Unity to hold an emergency session on the situation in the south and take several decisions accordingly.

After their meeting in Sabha, the Council submitted 10 demands to the Government of National Unity and the House of Representatives, about two weeks after the explosion of the fuel tanker in the city of Bent Bayah, which resulted in the death of 23 people and injury of scores of others.

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Southern Libya delegation threatens to form parallel government if its demands are not met - The Libya Observer

The Chairman of the Libyan Egyptian Joint Economic Chamber, Ibrahim Al-Jarrary, has said that the exemption of Libya from the Egyptian decision to ban exporting basic commodities would achieve some kind of boom in the local market amid the current slump in markets.

Al-Jarrary told Libya Al-Ahrar TV that importing basic commodities and Egyptian merchandise is of great importance to the food market in eastern Libya, saying that this would help reduce the prices of commodities for the locals.

The decision of the Egyptian authorities to exempt Libya from the ban of exporting basic commodities made in Egypt came after discussions held by Al-Jarrary with the Egyptian side following the instructions of the Ministry of Economy of the Government of National Unity.

A joint committee will be formed this week, comprising the Customs Authority and the Ministries of Transportation, Economy and Finance. They will go to Egypt to activate the agreement signed since 1990. Al-Jarrary added.

He also said that the there are efforts from both Libya and Egypt to resolve the issues of transportation of the Libyan citizens inside Egypt using their Libya-plated cars.

Al-Jarrary said the Libyan side is working in cooperation with Egypt to reactivate some of the agreements related to the use of Libyan citizens private cars inside Egypt, which would ensure less costs than the current ones.

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Al-Jarrary: Exemption of Libya from Egypt's ban on exporting basic commodities is significant - The Libya Observer