UNITED NATIONS, United Sates — The UN
special envoy for Libya, Jan Kubis of Slovakia, has quit less than a year after
taking on the role, diplomatic sources at the United Nations said Tuesday.
اضافة اعلان
"Kubis has resigned," a diplomat
told AFP on condition of anonymity, with several other diplomatic sources
confirming the surprise development.
No official reason was given for the
resignation, which comes one month before key presidential elections are to be
held in Libya.
One diplomatic source suggested he may
"feel he doesn't have enough support."
The UN Security Council recently split over
whether to reconfigure the leadership of the global body's political mission in
Libya, with several members calling for the envoy's post to be transferred from
Geneva to Tripoli.
Diplomats said Kubis had been reluctant to
undertake such a move.
The UN communications service had yet to
issue a statement on the 69-year-old's departure.
A former UN envoy for Lebanon, Kubis took up
the Libya envoy post in January.
His sudden exit comes a day after the close
of presidential nominations for Libya's closely-watched elections slated for
December 24.
According to Libya's electoral commission,
98 candidates including two women have submitted applications to be on the
presidential ballot.
Among the most notable hopefuls are Seif
al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of slain dictator Moammar Al-Gaddafi, and Khalifa
Haftar, leader of the self-styled Libyan National Army in control of the
country's east and parts of the south.
Also in the running are former interior
minister Fathi Bashagha and Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah of the interim,
UN-brokered Government of National Unity.
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