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Dbeibah Kicks off Visit to Tunisia amid Dispute over His Govt's Legitimacy

Head of Libya’s Government of National Unity (GNU) Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah attends the graduation ceremony of a batch of Libyan army cadets, in Tripoli, Libya, Feb. 8, 2022. (AP)
Head of Libya’s Government of National Unity (GNU) Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah attends the graduation ceremony of a batch of Libyan army cadets, in Tripoli, Libya, Feb. 8, 2022. (AP)
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Dbeibah Kicks off Visit to Tunisia amid Dispute over His Govt's Legitimacy

Head of Libya’s Government of National Unity (GNU) Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah attends the graduation ceremony of a batch of Libyan army cadets, in Tripoli, Libya, Feb. 8, 2022. (AP)
Head of Libya’s Government of National Unity (GNU) Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah attends the graduation ceremony of a batch of Libyan army cadets, in Tripoli, Libya, Feb. 8, 2022. (AP)

Head of Libya’s Government of National Unity (GNU) Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah arrived in Tunisia on Tuesday for a one-week official visit amid a dispute back home over the legitimacy of his government.

Dbeibah is leading a high-level delegation that includes chief of staff of western Libya forces Mohamed Haddad, Interior Minister Khaled Mazen, Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Shoubi, Minister of Marine Resources Adel Sultan, Minister of Economy and Trade Ali Al-Abed, deputy head of the Internal Security Agency Lotfi al-Harari and the Counter-Terrorism Force Commander Major General Muhammad Al-Zein.

This is Dbeibah’s second visit to Tunisia. He had visited the North African nation on September 9, accompanied by the Ministers of Health and Interior and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs.

"The Libyan delegation will meet with Tunisian President Kais Saied and Prime Minister Najla Bouden," Libyan sources close to Dbeibah said.

Bilateral meetings will be held between several Libyan ministers and their Tunisian counterparts.

The delegation will discuss several files, including the political situation in Libya.

In February, Libya's east-based House of Representatives named a new prime minister, former interior minister Fathi Bashagha, to lead a new interim government. The lawmakers claimed the mandate of Dbeibah, who is based in the capital, Tripoli, expired when the election failed to take place.

But Dbeibah insists he will remain prime minister until elections are held, and the High State Council, which advises the interim government, criticized the parliament’s decision to name a new prime minister before holding elections.

Talks in Tunisia will also discuss the joint border crossings, in addition to strengthening economic relations, commercial exchanges and opening Libyan markets to Tunisian labor.

Observers believe the elections file will dominate the Libyan delegation’s visit to Tunisia, which comes few days after Dbeibah visited Algeria.

In Algiers, he met with President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who expressed his support for holding the elections.

Tunisia has in recent years sought a neutral stance and avoided taking sides in the Libyan conflict.

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UN Envoy to Syria Warns Conflict Not Over

Geir Pedersen, UN Special envoy to Syria, visits Sednaya prison which was known as a slaughterhouse under Syria's Bashar al-Assad rule, after fighters of the ruling Syrian body ousted Bashar al-Assad, in Sednaya, Syria December 16, 2024. (Reuters)
Geir Pedersen, UN Special envoy to Syria, visits Sednaya prison which was known as a slaughterhouse under Syria's Bashar al-Assad rule, after fighters of the ruling Syrian body ousted Bashar al-Assad, in Sednaya, Syria December 16, 2024. (Reuters)
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UN Envoy to Syria Warns Conflict Not Over

Geir Pedersen, UN Special envoy to Syria, visits Sednaya prison which was known as a slaughterhouse under Syria's Bashar al-Assad rule, after fighters of the ruling Syrian body ousted Bashar al-Assad, in Sednaya, Syria December 16, 2024. (Reuters)
Geir Pedersen, UN Special envoy to Syria, visits Sednaya prison which was known as a slaughterhouse under Syria's Bashar al-Assad rule, after fighters of the ruling Syrian body ousted Bashar al-Assad, in Sednaya, Syria December 16, 2024. (Reuters)

Syria's conflict "has not ended" even after the departure of former president Bashar al-Assad, the UN's envoy to the country warned Tuesday, highlighting clashes between Turkish-backed and Kurdish groups in the north.

Geir Pedersen, the UN's special envoy for Syria, also called at the Security Council for Israel to "cease all settlement activity in the occupied Syrian Golan" and said an end to sanctions would be key to assisting Syria.

"There have been significant hostilities in the last two weeks, before a ceasefire was brokered... A five-day ceasefire has now expired and I am seriously concerned about reports of military escalation," he said.

"Such an escalation could be catastrophic."

Pedersen also said he had met with Syria's new de facto leadership following the opposition’s lightning takeover, and toured Sednaya prison's "dungeons" and "torture and execution chambers," operated under Assad's government.

He called for "broad support" for Syria and an end to sanctions to allow for reconstruction of the war-ravaged country.

"Concrete movement on an inclusive political transition will be key in ensuring Syria receives the economic support it needs," Pedersen said.

- 'Attacks on Syria's sovereignty' -

"There is a clear international willingness to engage. The needs are immense and could only be addressed with broad support, including a smooth end to sanctions, appropriate action on designations, too, and full reconstruction."

Western countries are wrestling with their approach to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which spearheaded the takeover of Damascus, and has roots in the Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda.

It has largely been designated in the West as a "terrorist" group, despite moderating its rhetoric.

Pedersen noted Israel had conducted more than 350 strikes on Syria following the departure of the former regime, including a major strike on Tartous.

"Such attacks place a battered civilian population at further risk and undermine the prospects of an orderly political transition," he said.

The envoy warned against plans announced by Israel's cabinet to expand settlements inside the Golan, occupied by Israel since 1967 and annexed in 1981.

On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a security briefing atop a strategic Syrian peak inside the UN-patrolled buffer zone on the Golan Heights that Israel seized this month.

"Israel must cease all settlement activity in the occupied Syrian Golan, which are illegal. Attacks on Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity must stop," said Pedersen.