Libya needs extra week to form unity government

Tripoli – Libya presidential council said Monday that he needs another week to form a national unity government after the internationally recognized country’s Parliament rejected an initial line-up.
The council, chaired by the Prime Minister-designate Fayez al-Sarraj was due to submit the names Wednesday of a new unity government for approval by the parliament recognized.
A national unity government of 32 members was announced on January 19 under an umbrella UN agreement signed last month in Morocco to end years of bloodshed rich in oil and Libya that led to the formation of a board of nine members.
But Parliament has recognized January 25 rejected the line-up, saying it was too big and has set a deadline of 10 days for a smaller firm.
Sarraj, a businessman, has held a series of consultations with the Libyan political actors to forge a new government.
On Monday, the presidential council said it had asked the legislator based in the eastern city of Tobruk to give him an extra week, a source of advice to AFP.
The source said that the board “needs more time” to discuss the line-up.
World powers have been pressing Libya to support a unity government as a step towards ending the political chaos that has plagued the country since the 2011 ouster for long dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
The jihadist group Islamic State has taken advantage of the chaos in Libya to expand its influence, which poses a threat to the rest of Africa and to Europe across the Mediterranean.
Since August 2014, Libya had two rival governments and parliaments, with internationally recognized authorities based in eastern and authority with the power to backed militia in Tripoli.