Eye on Islamic State, Western powers coax Libyans to accord

IS in Libya has between 2,000 and 3,000 fighters and is the only affiliate known to have received support and guidance from the extremist group’s stronghold in Syria and Iraq, U.N. experts have said.

Mr. Kobler said that Libya’s neighbours and others in the region and beyond have expressed a growing sense of alarm at the prospect of a spill over of the terrorist threat.

Successfully signing an agreement would open the way for the global community to support Libya in the fight against Islamic State, which has gained ground in the chaos and controls the western city of Sirte.

The North African oil producer is in chaos, with two rival governments, each backed by armed factions, hesitating over signing a previously negotiated agreement for a unity government.

The MPs that announced the latest agreement are both at odds with their own parliaments, but they claim to have the backing of the majority of MPs, respectively, and can therefore go ahead with the plan, said the ‘s Rana Jawad in Tunis.

The United Nations Security Council said that a unity government must be formed swiftly to counter the threat of Islamic State militants.

US Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Rome this weekend for high-level talks aimed at helping conflict-torn Libya form a unified government, Washington said on Thursday.

In Tripoli, another body – the General National Congress (GNC) – claims to be the legitimate government.

The ministerial-level meeting, to start on Sunday, is expected to bring to the table the United States, China, France, Russia and the United Kingdom, as well as Libya’s regional neighbors.

Libyan rival factions and United Nations officials have arrived in Rome on Saturday for the conference focused on Libya’s political crisis as well as the anti-terror issues.

The UN envoy for Libya, Martin Kobler, and representatives of rival parliaments took part in the discussions at a hotel in a Tunis suburb, with foreign diplomats invited as observers.

Ambassadors to Libya from several European Union countries and the U.S. on Tuesday warned against attempts to derail the UN-brokered deal, insisting it is the only way forward.

The country is also on the frontline of a migrant crisis, with Libya an unpoliced launchpad for people traffickers shipping desperate people across the Mediterranean.