Rival Libyan factions negotiating through a UN-brokered process have announced a unity government aimed at stemming the chaos that has engulfed the country since its 2011 uprising. In a statement early Tuesday, the Unity Presidential Council says it has agreed on a 32-member Cabinet with members drawn from across the country. The council includes representatives from Libya's two rival parliaments, which meet in the capital, Tripoli, and in the far east, as well as delegates from other factions. The agreement is part of a UN-backed process that has been rejected by other members of both main factions. It's not clear where the new government would be based or if it can govern the oil-rich North African country. The Unity Presidential Council meets in neighboring Tunisia. Only seven of the council's nine members signed the document. Western powers hope the new government will be able to deliver stability and tackle a growing threat from the Daesh militants. But many members of Libya's competing parliaments did not back the agreement, with critics saying the plan does not evenly represent all the country's groups and factions. It is also unclear how and when a new government will be able to establish itself in Libya. Tripoli is controlled by a faction called Libya Dawn, and the head of the self-declared government that it backs said last week that preparations by the Presidential Council to secure the capital violated military law.
