UAE, other Arab countries oppose appointment of former Algerian top diplomat as UN envoy to Libya

The United Arab Emirates expressed its opposition to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s decision to appoint former Algerian Foreign Minister Sabri Boukadoum as UN envoy to Libya, Libya Observer reports, citing diplomatic sources.

The Gulf country told the Security Council that some Arab countries and Libyan parties reject Boukadoum’s nomination.

Guterres last week proposed Boukadoum to replace Stephanie Williams whose job will terminate end of this month. The Arab League reportedly was expected to meet to discuss Boukadoum’s choice by the UN Chief.

UAE, according to a diplomatic source that asked not to be named, was the only country that rejected the former Algerian top diplomat’s appointment. “There is a regional concern about Boukadoum’s appointment, especially since Algeria has a common border with Libya,” the source told AFP.

Russia and Egypt have been pushing for the appointment for an African diplomat to head the UN mission in the crisis-hit African country. Libya has descended into chaos since the assassination of former leader Muammar Gaddafi in a NATO-led revolution in 2011.

Libya has currently two governments backed by foreign countries vying for influence.