13.07
Maggie Michael
The United Nations envoy to Libya said Wednesday that its reconstituted army could be decentralized, an idea aimed at easing the political gridlock surrounding an internationally-backed unity government.
In an interview in Cairo, Martin Kobler confirmed reports that the formation of military councils representing Libya's western, eastern and southern regions is being discussed.
He spoke to The Associated Press after holding talks with various Libyan figures in Cairo aimed at resolving the rivalry between the U.N.-backed government in the capital, Tripoli, and rival authorities based in the east.
A key point of contention has been the leadership of the army and the future of Gen. Khalifa Hifter, the head of armed forces based in the east. He is deeply unpopular in western Libya, but is seen by some in the eastern region as the country's best hope for defeating Islamic extremists. His forces have been battling militants in Libya's second city, Benghazi, for the last two years.
Kobler said his requests for a meeting with Hifter have been denied.
Libya is split between rival governments and parliaments based in the western and the eastern regions, each backed by different militias and tribes. The U.N. brokered a deal in December aimed at mending the rift by creating a presidency council and a unity government, but the eastern parliament has yet to approve of the arrangement.
Kobler said that although the unity government is strongly backed internationally it lacks "national legitimacy."
That has cast doubt on a roadmap under which the unity government was to steer the country through a political transition for up to two years until a new constitution is approved setting guidelines for presidential and parliamentary elections.
"There is political stalemate, and the security is not good, and there are grave humanitarian problems in the country," Kobler said.
Libya's lawlessness has transformed it into a major conduit for sub-Saharan migrants trying to reach Europe, many of whom have been subjected to abuse and extortion by various militias. Kobler said detention centers have become a source of "human capital" for armed groups.
The eastern authorities view the largely Islamist militias in Tripoli as terrorists, while many in Tripoli view Hifter and his supporters as remnants of Moammar Gadhafi's dictatorship, which was toppled in 2011 by an Arab Spring-inspired uprising and a NATO military intervention.
Kobler said the army cannot be rebuilt until the various militias disband and hand over their weapons, but that this should be done through negotiations so as not to risk a "civil war."
Forming regional councils may help entice the militias to disband, but Kobler said he still favors a "united Libyan army structure."
"You can't have a united Libya with two or three armies," he said.
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