The Libyan Political Agreement – initialed yesterday in Skhirat, Morocco, following consultations between various parties – comes amid ongoing fighting across the North African country.
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The Tripoli government refused to participate in the latest discussions on Saturday in the Moroccan city of Skhirat.
The agreement has the backing of the internationally-recognised government, which is based in the eastern port city of Tobruk, but not the Islamist administration which runs a parallel government in Tripoli.
Libya has been plunged into chaos since the 2011 overthrow of dictator Moamer Kadhafi, and now has two parliaments and governments vying for power.
Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said on his Twitter account that the agreement was an “important step in efforts to stabilise the region and re-establish peace in this great country”.
The worldwide Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Friday that some 150,000 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean to Europe so far this year, with almost all landing in Italy. It has been controlled by the Islamists and hardliners in the northern parts, while other parts came under the authority of the global recognized Tobruk-based government, backed by Egypt.
There has been a breakthrough in United Nations-brokered talks in Morocco between Libya’s rival governments, Al Jazeera has learned.
“They have taken the future of Libya in their hands, in a responsible and courageous way”, she said, calling those who have not yet initialed the agreement to display a similar spirit of consensus and responsibility, in the interest of all the Libyan people.
This historical peace deal represents an important opportunity for the Libyans to restore stability and prevent the country’s slide towards deeper conflict and economic collapse that should not be missed. “I am confident that in the weeks ahead we will try to clarify the issues that remain contentious and address the outstanding concerns”, he added.
Among these issues are a call for “respecting the judiciary”, a possible reference to a Supreme Court decision invalidating the parliament in the east, which was elected in June 2014.
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The deal initialled on Saturday was the fourth draft Leon had proposed.
