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Rabat – Bouznika is again the host to delegations of Libya’s opposing factions for a new round of negotiations. Representatives from Libya’s High Council of State and the Libyan House of Representatives returned to Morocco to resume discussions that took place at the time of Libya’s unexpected cease-fire announcement in the autumn of 2020.
The new round of talks is part of the same process that took place in Bouznika and Tangier in 2020, which resulted in comprehensive agreements that helped overcome divisions at the onset of negotiations. The process that started in Morocco in September eventually led to the signing of an official ceasefire in Geneva on October 23.
The conflict resolution process used as a foundation the 2015 Skhirat agreement, which did not resolve the conflict but provided a basis for the more fruitful talks five years later.
Libyan parties have expressed the importance for “Libyan ownership of the political process” and aim to build on the mechanisms outlined in the Libyan Political Agreement. The Libyan parties present in Bouznika used their press release on today’s talks to call for further in-person meetings.
Read also: Morocco to Host Libyan Delegations as Political Crisis Nears Its End
Both parties want to use the dialogue as an “efficient and transparent tool” to resolve remaining issues between the two parties involved in Libya’s long and bloody conflict, according to the statement.
While talks in Bouznika hope to bring the opposing sides in Libya together, several factors still hamstring the peace process in the North African country.
Khalifa Haftar’s self-proclaimed “Libyan National Army” continues to resist disarmament despite repeated calls to do so. The UN set a Saturday deadline for foreign fighters to leave Libya, yet CNN reported that Russian mercenaries aligned with Haftar have been spotted digging trenches.
The Libyan city of Sirte has become the scene of a stand-off between the armed forces of both sides. As negotiations continue in Bouznika and elsewhere, the situation on the ground in Libya is likely to provide a sign of the true willingness of both parties to de-escalate the conflict.
