Libyan parties reach peace agreement without Tripoli government

Libyan political leaders reached a new version of a UN-brokered peace deal on Saturday, putting pressure on the Tripoli leadership to sign on and build a unity government in hopes of ending the country’s chaos.
The Tripoli government took part in earlier stages of talks but refused to participate in the latest discussions in the Moroccan city of Skhirat. Members of Libya’s internationally recognised parliament and local and regional leaders initialed the agreement, brokered by UN envoy Bernardino Leon.
Negotiators plan to meet again after the Ramadan holiday to work on forming an interim government and finalising a power-sharing agreement — with or without the Tripoli holdouts.
Libya has been split for nearly a year between an elected parliament in the country’s far east and an Islamist-led government backed by militias that seized the capital. Lacking central authority, the country has seen mounting extremist activity, including by the Islamic State group and al-Qaeda-linked militants, and become a haven for migrant trafficking.
Leon said the door remained open for the Tripoli government to join the accord. Morocco’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday that the main sticking points were over which parties would run which institutions.