Factional Risks Hover as Libya's UN Peace Process Advances

FILE: Representatives of Libya’s rival administrations take part in a meeting in Morocco, on October 6. (AFP)
FILE: Representatives of Libya’s rival administrations take part in a meeting in Morocco, on October 6. (AFP)
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Factional Risks Hover as Libya's UN Peace Process Advances

FILE: Representatives of Libya’s rival administrations take part in a meeting in Morocco, on October 6. (AFP)
FILE: Representatives of Libya’s rival administrations take part in a meeting in Morocco, on October 6. (AFP)

Libyans working under a UN peace process on Tuesday agreed a mechanism to choose a new temporary government to oversee the run-up to elections late this year, in the hope that it can avoid being scuppered by factional rivalries.

It follows weeks of negotiation after a political dialogue in Tunis in November among 75 Libyans, selected by the UN Libya mission, charted a roadmap towards elections but failed to agree on how to form an interim government.

Libya has known little peace since Moammar al-Gaddafi was overthrown in 2011, in an uprising backed by NATO, and has been split since 2014 between warring factions that have set up rival administrations in the west and east.

The mechanism to choose a transitional government was proposed on Saturday by a smaller committee, drawn from the political dialogue members, that met in Geneva last week. It was voted on by the full body on Monday and Tuesday.

It means the group will soon turn to the nomination and choice of a unified government to prepare for the Dec. 24 presidential and parliamentary elections - a process that is no less fraught with potential for bitter disputes.

Both the main coalitions in western and eastern Libya are honeycombed with rivalries, and any move that cuts out powerful figures could unleash a new bout of the fighting that has already sucked in other powers.

The country is split between the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA), which is backed by Turkey, and the east-based Libyan National Army (LNA) commanded by Khalifa Haftar.



Yemen’s Houthis Say Response to US Attack on Iran 'Only a Matter of Time'

Houthi supporters gather near paintings depicting late military and political figures of Iran-backed groups of Yemen, Lebanon, Palestine and Iraq on display on a fence during a protest against the Israeli airstrikes on Iran, in Sanaa, Yemen, 20 June 2025. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB
Houthi supporters gather near paintings depicting late military and political figures of Iran-backed groups of Yemen, Lebanon, Palestine and Iraq on display on a fence during a protest against the Israeli airstrikes on Iran, in Sanaa, Yemen, 20 June 2025. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB
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Yemen’s Houthis Say Response to US Attack on Iran 'Only a Matter of Time'

Houthi supporters gather near paintings depicting late military and political figures of Iran-backed groups of Yemen, Lebanon, Palestine and Iraq on display on a fence during a protest against the Israeli airstrikes on Iran, in Sanaa, Yemen, 20 June 2025. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB
Houthi supporters gather near paintings depicting late military and political figures of Iran-backed groups of Yemen, Lebanon, Palestine and Iraq on display on a fence during a protest against the Israeli airstrikes on Iran, in Sanaa, Yemen, 20 June 2025. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB

The Houthi militias in Yemen vowed on Sunday to support Iran in its fight against “the Zionist and American aggression.”

Their statement called for the Muslim nations to join the holy war and act as “one front against the Zionist-American arrogance.”

The US military struck three sites in Iran early Sunday, inserting itself into Israel’s effort to decapitating Iran's nuclear program.

Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthi political bureau, also said that its ceasefire deal with Washington was before the "war" on Iran.

The group has been launching attacks on shipping lanes and Israel in what it says is in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza during the Israeli war. It agreed on a ceasefire deal with the United States in May to stop attacking US ships in exchange for an end to Washington's bombings of the group.

Al-Bukhaiti added that the Iran-aligned group's response to the US attack on Iran was "only a matter of time.”

Iran has fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel since Israel launched a surprise attack on its military and nuclear facilities last week. Israel’s sophisticated air defenses are able to shoot down most but not all of the missiles and drones.

Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations called on Sunday for an emergency Security Council meeting for what he described as America's “heinous attacks and illegal use of force” against Iran.