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This combination of pictures shows self-styled Libyan National Army's chief Khalifa Haftar (L) on Aug. 24, 2015 and Libya's U.N.-backed Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj on April 7, 2017.Khalil MazraawiAFP/Getty Images

(LA CELLE SAINT-CLOUD, France) Two rival Libyan leaders committed themselves on Tuesday to a cease-fire, working toward presidential and parliamentary elections and finding a roadmap to secure lawless Libya against terrorism and trafficking of all kinds, according to a document released by the French presidency.

The meetings at a chateau in La Celle Saint-Cloud, west of Paris, brought together Fayez Serraj, prime minister of the U.N.-backed unity government, and Gen. Khalifa Hifter, the Egyptian-backed commander of Libya's self-styled national army.

Emmanuel Macron met separately with each ahead of an encounter between the two Libyans in the presence of U.N.'s newly appointed special envoy for Libya, Ghassan Salame.

"There is political legitimacy in the hands of Mr. Serraj. There is military legitimacy is in the hands of Mr. Hifter. They have decided to work together," Macron said after the series of encounters.

The 10-point joint declaration that capped the talks was the first of its kind between the rivals.

Among the points agreed upon was a commitment to a cease-fire with armed force reserved "strictly" for use in counter-terrorism operations.

The rivals also "solemnly commit to work toward the holding of presidential and parliamentary elections as soon as possible."

The French president said later that the goal is for balloting in the spring. Serraj had said in May that elections would be held in spring. The date may seem premature in a country that has spiraled into chaos since the 2011 toppling and killing of leader Moammar Gadhafi. But French diplomats had said before the meeting that they would support such an initiative.

"The stakes of this reconciliation are enormous. Enormous for the Libyan people, who have been suffering, living with instability and terrorist threats these past years, and it is considerable for the whole region," Macron said after the talks. "If Libya fails," he said, "the whole region fails with it."

The stakes are high for Europe, too, as hundreds of thousands of migrants using Libya as a springboard reach its shores, mainly in Italy, and as Islamic extremists sheltering and multiplying in Libya cross to other North African states, most former French colonies.

The encounter was never expected to resolve the knotty problems of Libya, politically fractured and awash in militias and weapons and human traffickers preying on migrants who use the Libyan coast as a jumping off point to Europe, mainly Italy. But the joint declaration is to serve as a basis for further work by the U.N. envoy.

Macron, elected in May, was at ease in his role as peacemaker. He has made known that working toward laying the groundwork for a Libya with a functioning government and institutions is a priority of his presidency.

Appearing at a news conference, the three men shook hands and the two Libyan rivals bear-hugged Macron before exchanging timid kisses on the cheek. Neither Serraj nor Hifter spoke to the press.

"The courage that is yours today by being here and by agreeing to this joint declaration is historic," Macron said.

France, minding its diplomatic manners, has made clear that Macron's initiative is part of a larger process guided by the U.N. and does not negate work by the European Union, the African Union and individual countries working to find a path leading to a stable Libya under civilian rule.

The 10 points of the final declaration paint a picture of a Libya with a democratically elected government and a regular army and where human rights are respected and militias are banned.

The first point states that the solution to the Libyan crisis "can only be political" with a national reconciliation process that includes "all Libyans."

The two leaders called for disarmament and demobilization of fighters who don't want to integrate the regular armed forces so they can be reintegrated into civilian life.

This was not the first meeting between Serraj and Hifter. They last met in early May in Abu Dhabi, and the United Arab Emirates said later there had been a "significant breakthrough." However, no joint declaration followed.

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Libyan Rivals Agree to a Cease-Fire and Elections After Talks in France - TIME

Twenty suspected Isis fighters were shot and killed at point blankrange by the self-styledLibyanNational Army, according to two videos released on social media.

The first clip shows 18men in orange jump suitskneeling on the ground, blindfolded. A man believed to be Mahmoud al-Werfalli, a senior leader of General Khalifa Haftars forces, can be seen reading out charges before executing one of the people himself, according to the Libyan Express.

A second video shows two more suspects killed.

The executions reportedly took place on 17 July, withfootage posted online on Sunday.

On 18 July,United Nations human rights spokesperson Liz Throssell urged General Haftar's factionto investigate executions and suspend the commander, Werfalli.

We are deeply concerned that, after recent fighting in Benghazi, people taken prisoner by members of the Libyan National Army (LNA), which effectively controls eastern Libya, may be at imminent risk of torture and even summary execution.

Reports have suggested the involvement of Special Forces, a unit aligned with the LNA, in torturing detainees and summarily executing at least 10 captured men.

We urge the LNA to ensure there is a full, impartial investigation into these allegations.

The UN had also called on the general to suspend Werfalli after a video emerged in March, allegedly showing him shooting dead three men who were kneeling in a similar fashion to the suspected Isis detainees in the July clip.

The latest video comes as French President Emmanuel Macron is set to host General Haftar and Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj in an effort to help broker a UN-supported agreement between the two. Tensions are high afterGeneral Haftarwas quoted to havesaid he refusesto work with the Unity Government until the militias are disbanded.

The country has been in a volatilestate since rebel forces enacted a coup and removed Muammar Gaddafifrom power, in 2011.

A statement from the French president reads: France intends, through this initiative, to facilitate a political understanding between the Libyan Prime Minister and the Commander of the Libyan National Army, as Mr Ghassan Salam, the United Nations Secretary-General's new Special Representative for Libya, who is participating in the discussions, takes office as United Nations mediator.

In consultation with all its partners, France intends to signal its support for the efforts to build a political compromise, under the aegis of the United Nations, which draws all the various Libyan players together on an inclusive basis.

The challenge is to create a state which is capable of addressing the Libyans' basic needs and equipped with a regular, unified army under the authority of civilian power. This is necessary for controlling Libya's territory and borders in order to combat terrorist groups and the trafficking of arms and migrants, but also with a view to the return of stable institutional life.

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'Isis' fighters blindfolded and shot dead by Libyan forces in mass ... - The Independent

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya's coastguard rescued an estimated 278 migrants including women and children on Monday off the shores of two different towns west of the capital Tripoli, a spokesman said.

Thecoastal towns to the west of Tripoli - Zawiya, Sabratha, and Zuwarah - are common departure points for migrantstrying toreachEurope, often sent out by smugglers in flimsy vessels.

The coastguard near Zawiya refinery rescued 128 people about 23 km (14 miles) off the coast and another 150 were rescued off Sabratha, the spokesman of Libyan naval forces Ayoub Qaseed told Reuters.

The migrants were mostly from sub-Saharan African countries, though there was also one from Bangladesh and two from Egypt.

Thousands of migrants trying to cross to Europe by sea use the central Mediterranean route between Libya and Italy. The vast majority of migrants set off from the coastal towns ofwestern Libya.

Italy and the European Union are trying to work with Libyan authorities to fight smugglers, but the current chaos in Libya has allowed armed groups and criminal gangs to flourish and is hampering efforts to combat trafficking.

Reporting by Ahmed Elumami; editing by Patrick Markey and Gareth Jones

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Libya coastguard rescues nearly 300 migrants off the coast: official - Reuters

Rome - Rescuers coming to the aid of a dinghy packed with migrants off the coast of Libya said on Tuesday they had discovered 13 bodies including those of pregnant women.

"Thirteen corpses in total. People who had names, surnames, mothers, fathers, friends, and lives," said Proactiva Open Arms, a Spanish NGO involved in rescues in the Mediterranean, on Twitter.

"We have found 167 people drifting," it said earlier noting that "several pregnant women and mothers" were among an initial toll of 11 dead and that their relatives were on board.

A Save The Children ship on Tuesday rescued some 70 migrants who were also attempting to cross in a small boat.

The Italian coastguard confirmed the deaths and said worsening weather conditions at sea were likely to dissuade traffickers for now from setting more boats full of people to sail in the Mediterranean.

Close to 94 000 people have been brought to safety in Italy so far this year, according to Italy's interior ministry, an increase of over five percent compared to the same period last year.

More than 2 370 people have died since January attempting the perilous crossing, the UN refugee agency said.

The fresh deaths came as Italy's Interior Minister Marco Minniti was due to meet with NGOs to discuss a new "code of conduct" to regulate the operations of privately run rescue boats.

The 12-point code, which has been given the green-light by Brussels, would ban aid vessels from entering Libyan territorial waters and oblige them to accept anti-trafficking police officers on board.

While some of the NGOs operating in the Mediterranean have agreed to sign the code, others have insisted doing so would put the lives of vulnerable migrants at sea in flimsy vessels at risk.

Minniti has insisted that those who do not sign the document will not be allowed to dock at Italian ports.

Although Italy has repeatedly stressed that it will continue to save lives at sea, Rome has upped its requests for fellow European states to help shoulder the load - particularly in terms of providing shelter to those rescued.

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Rescuers find 13 bodies in crowded migrant dinghy off Libya - News24

A surge in Libyan oil exports production has increased sharply in the past few months, jumping to four-year highs of over 1 million b/d this month is seeing more and more oil tankers travel to and from the North African countrys key oil terminals, increasing tanker activity and pushing up freight rates in the Mediterranean. So far, so good for shipowners.

But as more tankers call at Libyan ports, something which they were happy to avoid altogether less than a year ago, they can find themselves being drawn into the role of unlikely and possibly begrudging humanitarians.

Increasingly they are receiving calls to assist unseaworthy vessels carrying migrants heading for Europe, shipping sources say.

Under the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) which was first introduced after the sinking of the Titanic all vessels have a legal obligation to respond to other vessels in distress.

It is a somewhat incongruous image, an oil tanker teeming with rescued migrants, but it captures two of the big contemporary issues in the world our reliance on oil and energy in general, and the profound economic struggles faced by some in this uncertain world that would force them to undertake such a dangerous journey.

The issue of migrants is becoming a real talking point among shipowners, who argue that picking up in-distress migrants is both time-consuming and a potentially serious security risk: the number of people picked up could easily outnumber the crew and they may even be armed. There havent been any problems to date, but it is an obvious concern.

War-torn Libya has over recent years become the key route for migrants from Africa and the Middle East, serving as a portal to Europe.

This is not new, but with the rise in oil flows out of Libya, there are more tankers in the Libyan waters which has also coincided with even more migrants making their way through the desert terrain of northern Africa to sail from Libya, with the ongoing civil unrest and political instability in the country making it a fertile area for human smugglers and traffickers.

So far this year 93,213 people have arrived in Italy by sea, with a good majority of them on oil tankers, according to UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency. Estimates put the number of people from outside Libya currently in the country and trying to get to Europe at around 300,000.

European and African ministers were meeting in Tunis this week to discuss a plan to limit the flow of migrants to Europe to about 20,000, coupled with a much tougher strategy to deport illegal migrants from Italy and break up smuggling rings.

Much rests on whether or not they can come up with workable solutions. The pressure is becoming ever greater, especially with the Balkan route for migrants having recently been closed by central European countries, forcing more to take to the sea and cross through Libya.

In the face of this Italian government is seriously discussing preventing aid vessels from dropping migrants from Libyan waters to Italian ports, tankers that make rescues could be left in limbo if they cannot disembark the refugees they rescue from the sea at Italian ports.

This is an issue that European shipping markets will definitely be following closely as the role of tankers as unlikely aid vessels continues.

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Unlikely humanitarians shippers returning to Libya face a tough moral dilemma - Platts (blog)