UN Envoy Rules out Holding Elections in Libya before Year’s End

United Nations special envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame. (AFP)
United Nations special envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame. (AFP)
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UN Envoy Rules out Holding Elections in Libya before Year’s End

United Nations special envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame. (AFP)
United Nations special envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame. (AFP)

United Nations special envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame ruled out on Saturday the possibility of holding general elections in the country before the end of the year given the violence still raging their.

"There is still a lot to do. It may not be possible to respect the date of December 10," he told Agence-France Presse.

Rival Libyan leaders agreed to a Paris-brokered deal in May to hold a nationwide poll by the end of the year.

But Salame said that polls may not be organized before "three or four months".

"We can hold elections in the near future, yes. But certainly not now.”

Militia clashes in Tripoli's suburbs have left more than 100 people dead since late August.

The Paris agreement included a September 16 deadline to come up with an electoral law, forming the "constitutional base" for a vote later in the year.

But many observers have said the timetable was overly ambitious given ongoing instability and territorial disputes across the country, along with an economy that is flagging despite Libya's vast oil wealth.

The United Nations is hoping that presidential and parliamentary elections will help turn the page on years of chaos in Libya.



Houthi Attack Sees Explosions Near Ship in Red Sea

Houthi soldiers march during a military course, in Sanaa, Yemen, 08 November 2024. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB
Houthi soldiers march during a military course, in Sanaa, Yemen, 08 November 2024. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB
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Houthi Attack Sees Explosions Near Ship in Red Sea

Houthi soldiers march during a military course, in Sanaa, Yemen, 08 November 2024. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB
Houthi soldiers march during a military course, in Sanaa, Yemen, 08 November 2024. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB

A suspected attack by Yemen's Houthi militias saw multiple explosions strike near a vessel traveling through the Red Sea on Tuesday, though no damage was immediately reported by the ship.

A vessel in the southern reaches of the Red Sea, about 130 kilometers southwest of Hodeida, reported the attack, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said.

No one was wounded on board in the blasts, and the ship was continuing on its journey, the UKMTO added.

The Houthis have targeted more than 90 merchant vessels with missiles and drones since the war in Gaza started in October 2023. They seized one vessel and sank two in the campaign, which also killed four sailors.

Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by a US-led coalition in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets, which have included Western military vessels as well.