Libya's warring sides said on Friday that they had reopened the main coast road across the front line, a key element of a ceasefire agreed last year.
The UN-backed 5+5 committee drawn from Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army in the east and forces that support the government in Tripoli, said the road was open from 11am local time.
It was not open to military traffic, the committee said, and the agreement included some preparatory steps for the withdrawal of foreign fighters, another part of last year's ceasefire that has still to be implemented.
The slow progress in opening the road reflected other stumbles in the UN-backed effort to resolve Libya's long conflict with a ceasefire, a unity government, proposed elections and moves to unify economic institutions.
The Government of National Unity, selected by means of a UN-aided process early this year and then ratified by the divided parliament in the east, took office in March.
However, since that point there has been little agreement on key steps forward, including on a constitutional basis for the elections scheduled in December and for the GNU's budget.
Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah had declared the road open on June 21, just before a second international conference to support the country in Berlin. But Field Marshal Haftar's forces said there was no truth to the statement, even if Mr Dbeibah showed photographs of a huge pile of sand being cleared from the road.
Forces in western Libya had refused to open the road until another ceasefire condition – the removal of foreign mercenaries entrenched around front lines – was carried out.
Critics of parliament speaker Aguila Saleh, an ally of Field Marshal Haftar during his 2019-2020 assault on Tripoli, regard the delays as evidence that forces in the east are trying to sabotage the process.
Mr Saleh and his allies in eastern Libya meanwhile, accused the GNU of becoming "a Tripoli government" and blamed it for the failure to unify institutions.
Last week Mr Saleh said that a failure to hold elections meant another rival administration could be set up in the east.
Day 5, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day When Dilruwan Perera dismissed Yasir Shah to end Pakistan’s limp resistance, the Sri Lankans charged around the field with the fevered delirium of a side not used to winning. Trouble was, they had not. The delivery was deemed a no ball. Sri Lanka had a nervy wait, but it was merely a stay of execution for the beleaguered hosts.
Stat of the day – 5 Pakistan have lost all 10 wickets on the fifth day of a Test five times since the start of 2016. It is an alarming departure for a side who had apparently erased regular collapses from their resume. “The only thing I can say, it’s not a mitigating excuse at all, but that’s a young batting line up, obviously trying to find their way,” said Mickey Arthur, Pakistan’s coach.
The verdict Test matches in the UAE are known for speeding up on the last two days, but this was extreme. The first two innings of this Test took 11 sessions to complete. The remaining two were done in less than four. The nature of Pakistan’s capitulation at the end showed just how difficult the transition is going to be in the post Misbah-ul-Haq era.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
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