Powers urge Libya to keep poll plan, want mercenaries out

World powers on Friday told Libya to stick to a plan for holding presidential elections on December 24, adding that foreign mercenaries should also leave and allow the country to turn a page in its history.

French President Emmanuel Macron hosted leaders and diplomats in Paris for an international conference, declaring that Libya was now as a "crossroads" that would determine its future.

The North African country has been mired in civil war since the overthrow of dictator Moamer Kadhafi in a 2011 uprising, with the bloodshed drawing in competing Libyan factions and Islamist groups, as well as regional powers.

The presidential vote on December 24 is the core part of a United Nations plan to help restore stability, but the calendar has been under pressure as tensions flare once more between rival camps.

"We urge all Libyan stakeholders and candidates to respect their commitments towards holding elections on 24 December 2021 (and) to accept the results of free, fair and inclusive elections," the powers said in a statement after the talks.

The scheduling has remained unclear, after Libya's parliament in early October pushed back legislative elections until January.

"Libya is once again at a crossroads. There have been 10 years of disorder and upheaval in which the international community is not without responsibility," said Macron.

"The next six weeks will be decisive," he added.

The world powers also warned that sanctions could be imposed against anyone deemed to be impeding the process.

"We affirm that individuals or entities, inside or outside of Libya, who might attempt to obstruct, undermine, manipulate or falsify the electoral process and the political transition will be held accountable and may be designated" by UN sanctions, their statement said.

Key players attending the meeting included US Vice President Kamala Harris and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, one of Paris's closest allies in the Middle East although accused by activists of rights abuses at home.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi were also present. But President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and Russian President Vladimir Putin were conspicuous by their absence.