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UN Libya Envoy Points to ‘Alternatives’ If Political Bodies Duck Electoral Pact

Abdoulaye Bathily, UN Special Representative for Libya and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), gives a press conference in Tripoli on March 11, 2023. (AFP)
Abdoulaye Bathily, UN Special Representative for Libya and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), gives a press conference in Tripoli on March 11, 2023. (AFP)
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UN Libya Envoy Points to ‘Alternatives’ If Political Bodies Duck Electoral Pact

Abdoulaye Bathily, UN Special Representative for Libya and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), gives a press conference in Tripoli on March 11, 2023. (AFP)
Abdoulaye Bathily, UN Special Representative for Libya and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), gives a press conference in Tripoli on March 11, 2023. (AFP)

If Libya's legislative bodies are unable to agree on electoral laws in a timely manner "we will look at what alternative we will find", the UN Libya envoy said on Friday, indicating he would not accept moves to derail a march to elections.

Envoy Abdoulaye Bathily is seeking to break Libya's long internal stalemate with an election this year to replace transitional political bodies that have long outlived their mandates.

He announced a new initiative last month to speed up the political process, prompting the two legislative bodies, the House of Representatives (HoR) and the High State Council (HSC), to set up a committee to look at electoral laws.

"They have to deliver on this in a timely manner," he told Reuters in an interview on Friday from Tripoli.

Many Libyans remain skeptical that the two bodies are negotiating in good faith after years of endless talks and transitional arrangements that have always allowed them to retain positions of power.

A previous attempt to hold an election in December 2021 fell apart because of disputes over the rules, including the eligibility of each of the main candidates.

Bathily earlier this month said the legislative bodies' committee would have to approve clear electoral laws in June in order for a national vote to go ahead this year.

"Of course if they don't do it, they will be accountable to the Libyan people, to the international community, to the regional leaders who are supporting them in this process," he added.

When asked what alternatives he was considering if they did not follow through, Bathily said: "We will talk about that when the time comes."

Libya has had little peace since a NATO-backed uprising in 2011 and it split in 2014 between warring eastern and western factions. The last major bout of fighting ended with a ceasefire in 2020 but there has been no move to a lasting political solution.

Skepticism

Bathily acknowledged that many Libyans "have shown their skepticism about the capacity or the goodwill of the HoR and HSC to deliver on their mandate", adding "this cannot be just another twist in the musical chairs".

He pointed to the HoR having been elected in 2014 for a term of only 18 months, saying: "We cannot see an open-ended legitimacy that doesn't exist anywhere in the world, where the parliament is elected in an open-ended manner for an endless term."

The HSC itself emerged from the members of an earlier transitional parliament elected in 2012 and was created through a 2015 political agreement.

Bathily said the high-level steering panel he announced last month to enable elections would not function as "a physical kind of meeting where all the stakeholders will come together".

Instead, it will involve him shuttling between different political, security and civil society groups and representatives.

Many Libyans are also doubtful about any election in a country where most territory is controlled by armed factions that may back or oppose particular candidates even if the political bodies can agree to rules.

Bathily said there could not be "free and fair elections under the current fragmentation of the security apparatus" but said the UN Libya mission was working with armed factions and others to reach agreement on how a vote could take place.

Meetings last week in Tunis and next week in Tripoli will bring together figures from all the regions concerned, he said, in a dialogue "to be engaged in a process where elections will be secure".

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Sudan Arms Surge Raises Alarms Over Civilian Protection

Sudan says it destroyed 50,000 explosive remnants of war (AFP)
Sudan says it destroyed 50,000 explosive remnants of war (AFP)
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Sudan Arms Surge Raises Alarms Over Civilian Protection

Sudan says it destroyed 50,000 explosive remnants of war (AFP)
Sudan says it destroyed 50,000 explosive remnants of war (AFP)

A surge in deadly violence has gripped the quiet northern town of al-Dabbah, exposing the growing threat posed by the rampant spread of weapons across Sudan in the absence of effective state control.

At least eight people were killed over just two days, four in tribal clashes and four others in a street fight within the town.

The latest bloodshed comes amid a broader climate of insecurity, where gunfire has become a common soundscape. In nearby Omdurman, social media users circulated graphic footage of a young man shot dead in cold blood after resisting an attempt to steal his mobile phone.

Reports of killings and injuries from arguments and brawls settled with bullets have flooded social platforms, painting a grim picture of lawlessness. Armed robbery gangs are said to roam freely, terrorizing civilians with no security forces in sight.

As Sudan’s brutal conflict enters its third year, guns have become as commonplace in towns and villages as household items. What was once settled with fists or sticks is now resolved through the barrel of a gun.

Tens of thousands of civilians have reportedly armed themselves, citing the need for self-defense amid state collapse and the disintegration of law enforcement.

Even before the war erupted, estimates suggested around 2.2 million firearms were circulating in Sudan’s conflict zones. Since then, the figure is believed to have ballooned, with unofficial estimates placing the current number at nearly six million, most acquired privately or informally.

In al-Dabbah, local authorities confirmed tribal clashes erupted between members of the Kababish and Hawaweer tribes, leaving four dead and others wounded before security forces intervened. The following day, a quarrel between vehicle drivers escalated into a gunfight, claiming four more lives.

Meanwhile, in the Omdurman district of Al-Hattana, gunmen fatally shot a man while attempting to snatch his phone, another grim scene that social media brought into public view.

Weapons have now flooded Sudan’s markets. Eyewitnesses and former security officials say that under the brief control of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Khartoum, firearms were openly sold on the street like vegetables, with prices starting at just 20,000 Sudanese pounds, roughly $10.

Security experts say this gun chaos is not a sudden phenomenon but the product of years of unchecked proliferation.

Under former President Omar al-Bashir, weapons were distributed to tribal militias to fight opposing groups. With the eruption of nationwide conflict, arms have spread from the traditional battlegrounds of Darfur and Kordofan to cities in Sudan’s north, east, and center.

Legal analyst Moaz Hadra warned of the growing dangers of “random arming,” saying some groups are being trained and armed outside Sudan to destabilize the country. “Why are these groups being trained abroad instead of within Sudan’s military institutions?” he asked when speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat.

Officials Downplay Risk, Citing Self-Defense

Despite mounting violence, Sudanese security and military officials continue to downplay the threat. They argue that most weapons are held by civilians for self-protection against RSF attacks or roaming bandits. “Should a citizen wait helplessly while armed men storm his home?” one commentator asked rhetorically.

Brigadier General Fath al-Rahman al-Toum, a police spokesman, dismissed fears of total lawlessness, saying that gun crackdowns are ongoing and that firearms possession is being treated as an exceptional situation under extraordinary circumstances.

Others, like Brigadier General Saleh Abdullah, insist that once the war ends, collecting the weapons will be “very easy,” noting that most guns were distributed under strict regulations to reserve forces and can be retrieved using serial numbers registered to each piece. “The army has always managed its weapons according to clear protocols,” he said.

Major General Mujahid Ibrahim added that Sudan’s porous borders, particularly in the west, have made it easier for arms to enter the country unchecked, exacerbating the crisis. Still, military officials say weapons loaned to civilians can be recovered thanks to detailed logs and unique identifiers.

Yet, as al-Dabbah and Omdurman reel from fresh bouts of violence, the gap between official reassurance and on-the-ground chaos continues to widen. With Sudan’s civil war showing no sign of abating, the unchecked spread of guns threatens to tear apart what remains of the country’s fragile social fabric.