Libya has ‘best opportunity’ for peace in decade, US official says

War-torn Libya has its best chance for peace since the fall of dictator Muammar Gaddafi, a senior US diplomat said on Wednesday, urging rival parties to work together ahead of the December elections.

“Libya now faces the best opportunity it has had in a decade, to end the conflict, move the economy forward and lay the foundations for a stable democratic society,” the adviser said. ‘State Derek Chollet during a visit to Tripoli. .

“The United States will continue to support this vital process,” he told reporters.

But speaking after meeting with figures from the country’s transitional government, including Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah, he warned that “the moment is urgent”.

Chollet’s visit came days after Parliament Speaker Aguila Saleh, a key supporter of eastern military strongman Khalifa Haftar, ratified a law governing the upcoming presidential election, angering MPs and lawmakers alike. politicians who say he broke due process.

Libya descended into chaos following the 2011 US-NATO-backed revolt that overthrew and killed Gaddafi, with rival militias and foreign powers fighting for control.

A war between the forces of western Libya and Haftar ended with a UN-backed ceasefire in October last year, and the world body has since overseen a complex peace process with elections scheduled for December 24.

But the legal basis for the elections has been at the center of growing tensions between the different parties.

Last week, a spokesperson for the eastern parliament elected in 2014 released the text of the presidential election law, signed by Saleh.

But some lawmakers were quick to criticize Saleh for not submitting the full text to a parliamentary vote, and the High Council of State (equivalent to a Senate) accused him of attempting to “seize powers “and obstruct the next elections.

Saleh has long been accused of trying to favor Haftar, a likely presidential candidate who controls the country’s eastern province and part of the south.

On Wednesday, Chollet said “the recent (…) proposal is a solid basis for discussion” and urged senior officials to “move, without delay, to ways to get things done”.

“We ask only one thing of the Libyan leadership: that they contribute constructively to what is proposed rather than demolishing it by offering nothing instead.”

The United States led the invasion of Libya in 2011, but has taken a fairly passive approach since 2012, when an assault on the US consulate in Benghazi killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens.