United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres walks next to the Tunisian Presidential Advisor for Political Affairs, Habib Essid, upon his arrival to the Arab Summit at Tunis-Carthage international airport, in Tunis, Tunisia, March 30, 2019. Hussein Malla/Pool via REUTERS
March 30, 2019
TUNIS (Reuters) – There are signs that Libya’s two rival leaders may for the first time solve a key dispute over control of the army, amid efforts to overcome the country’s eight-year-long conflict, U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Saturday.
The United Nations has been trying to broker a power sharing agreement between Khalifa Haftar, a commander controlling eastern Libya allied to a parallel government, and the internationally-recognized Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj, based in Tripoli.
One key obstacle has been whether Haftar can head a unified Libyan army under civilian command, which would form part of a new national government.
“We see signs that the contradictions that you have noted could possibly be overcome for the first time,” Guterres told reporters.
He spoke after a meeting with officials of the Arab League, European Union and African Union ahead of an Arab leaders’ summit in Tunis on Sunday.
The U.N. is holding a national conference in April in a bid to end the political conflict. The U.N. efforts aim to prepare the country for long-delayed national elections.
(Reporting by Mostafa Salem; Writing by Ulf Laessing; Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)
