Libya: NTC Postpones Forming Government

Tripoli---Libya’s interim authorities have indefinitely postponed formation of a new government due on Sunday, as fighting in the last pockets held by Col Muammar Gaddafi’s loyalists intensifies.

Mahmud Jibril second in command in the National Transitional Council (NTC) told reporters that unveiling of the new cabinet line-up would be postponed indefinitely in order to finalise consultations.

Mr. Jibril said that much had been achieved to meet out several portfolios within the NTC, adding that he expects a quick wrap up on the rest of the consultations which he said will look into getting women and young people to play a major role in the new government as deputies or directors of ministries.

Jibril, a former official in Col Gaddafi’s regime is expected to retain his post as prime minister. He has been accused for failing to consult extensively with grassroots rebel groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood.

Push by the NTC fighters for the remaining two major bastions under Gaddafi’s loyalists has been met with intense resistance. On Saturday, NTC forces engaged loyalist fighters in bloody battles in a bid to take over the Mediterranean coastal city of Sirte, but were met with fierce resistance. In the desert town of Bani Walid, the anti-Gaddafi forces were beaten back by loyalist snipers and gunners holding strategic high ground.

NTC military spokesman Ahmed Omar Bani told a news conference in the capital, Tripoli, they had gained some ground, and he expects loyalist forces in Bani Walid and Gaddafi’s birthplace of Sirte to be defeated in a matter of days.

“We managed to enter the town on the north side that we control. We have advanced towards the centre but we were attacked by snipers and mercenaries who have launched rockets from the mountains,” he said.

The UN on Friday handed Libya’s seat at the General Assembly to the NTC in a vote, approving a resolution on establishment of a UN mission in Libya and lifting sanction initially targeting Col Gaddafi. The resolution unanimously passed by the Security Council saw unfreezing of assets of two Libyan oil firms and modification of an arms embargo.

Whereabouts of Muammar Gaddafi who is claimed to be still in the country remain unknown. Close allies and relatives have reportedly fled the country into Niger through the desert border route which is under loyalists.

 

Antananarivo, Madagascar

Madagascar Foe Leaders Sign Pact to end Stalemate

Madagascar’s incumbent President Andry Rajoelina has signed a political roadmap with the opposition that seeks to pave way for fresh elections and put an ultimate end to sanctions on the mineral rich Indian Ocean Island.

The accord mediated by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) bloc confirmed Rajoelina as president, allowing unconditional return of exiled ousted leader Marc Ravalomanana. The roadmap calls for swift passing of an amnesty law and formation of a consensus government ahead of fresh elections to be held within a year.

The political roadmap was signed on Saturday in the capital, Antananarivo, by all but one of the Madagascar’s three major opposition parties following months of negotiations by regional development blocs to restore democracy, a condition for the frozen aid.

Philippe Willaert who led the European Union (EU) delegation said the roadmap is recognised by the international community and had opened the way for donor nations to formally recognise Rajoelina’s regime for the first time since he led the coup.

The self-proclaimed president, a former disc jockey and mayor of the capital toppled Ravalomanana from power in a popular uprising backed by the military in March 2009.

His takeover attracted a series of sanctions from the international community, refusing to recognise his new government, leading to a diplomatic isolation and freezing of financial aid worth of millions of dollars. Madagascar has been suspended from the African Union (AU) and SADC since the coup.

Ravalomanana who has been living in South Africa since his ousting was sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment over killings of demonstrators by his troops in the run-up to his overthrow.

Head of the Ravalomanana delegation Mamy Rakotoarivelo, expressed satisfaction with the new roadmap though he said it did not fulfil their demands. He told the Reuters news agency after the signing ceremony that “We believe Marc Ravalomanana will be able to return as soon as the transitional administration is put in place.