Shkirat (Morocco). Members of Libya's warring factions have signed a peace deal that could pave the way for British troops helping them to fight an attempted take-over of the country by the Islamic State. After more than a year of talks brokered by the United Nations, representatives of Libya's two main armed camps put their names to an agreement at a signing ceremony in the Moroccan resort of Shkirat.
Theoretically the deal creates a new unity government that will end more than a year of low-level civil war, during which ISIL militants have gained control of the late Colonel Gaddafi's hometown, Sirte on Libya's Mediterranean coast. Britain has said that it would support the new government in its fight against ISIL, by contributing up to 1,000 troops to a 6,000-strong training mission led by Italy, the country's former colonial power. Despite warnings from the British envoy to the Libyan talks that the country is at risk of becoming a “Somalia by the Med”, it is far from guaranteed that the peace deal might even lead to a new government.
Meanwhile, many senior figures from both camps have refused to sign the deal, including Nouri Abusahmain, president of the Tripoli-based General National Congress, which is one of the two factions involved in the talks, along with the Tobruk-based House of Representatives. The agreement must also have the backing of militia leaders who act as the respective factions' armed muscle. Foreign diplomats are hoping to overcome resistance to the deal by gaining enough signatures of lower-level parliamentarians, plus local mayors, tribal leaders and other Libyan power-brokers.
“It is in the nature of this agreement that nobody is entirely happy, this is always like this in difficult situations,” said Martin Kobler, veteran German diplomat who has been acting as the UN's main envoy to the talks. “We have only 75 per cent of people who are happy with it. But I think it's a good start.” Adding, “The doors remain wide open to those who are not here today.” Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond, hailed the signing of the deal as a “positive step” for Libya, and said that Libyan politicians who had not endorsed it could still come forward and do so.
The next step will be to create a UN resolution giving any new government international recognition, which will give it theoretical control over Libya's financial institutions and diplomatic support abroad. It will also allow Britain to formally commit troops, likely to include special forces in covert roles, to help in the push against ISIL. Hammond said the West and the Gulf states would immediately “swing behind” any new Libyan government to help them return stability to the country.
