New UN Libya envoy makes security his priority

TRIPOLI — Veteran German diplomat Martin Kobler took up his new job as UN special envoy for Libya Tuesday, saying security will be his priority as he presses a faltering peace deal.

Kobler said he was "full of hope and determination" as he took over the position of head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya from Spaniard Bernardino Leon.

"Only through dialogue and unity can stability be attained and the state's authority restored," a statement said, adding that he will meet Libyan political players in the coming days in a bid to push for a peace deal.

"I will listen to the members of the political dialogue and the proposed presidency council as well as various other Libyan partners to address and finalise the remaining small number of outstanding issues," Kobler said.

"I am determined to build on the momentum to bring about an endorsement of the Libyan Political Agreement in the immediate future."

Kobler said his priority would be "to discuss security-related issues with the various actors" in order to achieve "durable peace" in Libya, which has been wracked by violence since a 2011 uprising ousted dictator Muammar Qadhafi.

"We cannot afford to waste the hard work already done," he added. 

In an apparent bid to bolster Kobler's efforts, Italian Lieutenant General Paolo Serra has been appointed as his "senior adviser" for security matters, the mission said.

Serra had previously served as head of mission of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, which monitors a ceasefire line between Israel and Lebanon.

After almost a year of arduous negotiations, Leon had proposed in early October a power-sharing deal aimed at establishing a unity government.

Under the deal, Libya would be governed by a nine-member presidential council made up of a prime minister, five deputy prime ministers and three senior ministers.

But Libya's rival factions have rejected the deal.

Oil-rich Libya has two administrations since August 2014, when an Islamist-backed militia alliance overran Tripoli, forcing the internationally recognised government to take refuge in the country's east.

A former ambassador to Iraq and Egypt, Kobler led the UN peace mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo over the past two years and has represented the United Nations in Afghanistan and Iraq.