African Union to meet in South Africa over Libya

The African Union (AU) committee on Libya will meet in South Africa on Sept.14, the South African presidency announced on Tuesday. The South African Press Association (SAPA) reported that South Africa and the AU have refused to recognize the Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC) as the new legitimate authority in that country. However, the AU has attempted to mediate a peace deal between the NTC and the government of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Headed by Mauritania's president Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, the AU committee on Libya includes the leaders of South Africa, Uganda, Mali and the Republic of the Congo. South African presidential spokesman Bongani Majola declined to disclose the agenda for the Sept. 14 meeting. On Sept. 8, the South African Cabinet reconfirmed the government's commitment to the AU roadmap as the best option to resolve the conflict in Libya. In protest over the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's military intervention in Libya, South Africa boycotted the recent Paris conference on rebuilding the north African country.