Al-Wasat reported on Tuesday evening that Hanna Tetteh delivered her periodic briefing to the United Nations Security Council regarding the latest security developments in Libya, emphasizing the need for security stability to ensure progress in the political process. She stated that the ongoing confrontation between the ‘Interim National Unity Government’ and the Deterrence Apparatus for Combating Terrorism and Organized Crime threatened the truce reached last May and deepened concerns about a military escalation in the capital, Tripoli.
Tetteh explained that ‘tensions have decreased in Tripoli thanks to efforts by local actors and international partners,’ while urging both the government and the deterrence apparatus to exercise restraint to avoid harming civilians. The UN envoy also affirmed in her briefing that Libya cannot afford any delay in implementing the roadmap launched by the mission last August.
Libya has been experiencing a complex political crisis since 2011, with two rival governments, one in the east led by Osama Hamad and the other in the west led by Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, who refuses to relinquish power except through elections. Elections were scheduled in Libya for December 24, 2021, but political disagreements among the rival parties, as well as disputes over the election law, prevented them from taking place.
Despite repeated international and local attempts to unify the divided institutions between the east and west, efforts are ongoing to find a political solution that ends the crisis and paves the way for lasting stability.
