libya has been in turmoil since an uprising toppled muammar gaddafi in 2011.n the years after that, different political groups backed by international powers competed mostly through violence to gain control. in 2015, the government of national accord was formed in the west and with backing from the united nations, it was meant to serve as an interim government in libya after this turmoil, but the following year, the administration backed by a warlord voted against approving it and cooperation between both ends of libya broke down. since then, there have been years of war and attempts to take control of the capital by force. finally and after months of united nations-backed negotiations, the two sides agreed to a cease-fire in march and formed a unity government pending elections this month. let's bring in our guest from paris, a journalist whose -- who specializes in libyan politics. and an expert in north africa affairs and board member with the institute of saharan studies. thank you for joining us. the general feeling was that basically the 24th of december

libya has been in turmoil since an uprising toppled muammar gaddafi in 2011.n the years after that, different political groups backed by international powers competed mostly through violence to gain control. in 2015, the government of national accord was formed in the west and with backing from the united nations, it was meant to serve as an interim government in libya after this turmoil, but the following year, the administration backed by a warlord voted against approving it and cooperation between both ends of libya broke down. since then, there have been years of war and attempts to take control of the capital by force. finally and after months of united nations-backed negotiations, the two sides agreed to a cease-fire in march and formed a unity government pending elections this month. let's bring in our guest from paris, a journalist whose -- who specializes in libyan politics. and an expert in north africa affairs and board member with the institute of saharan studies. thank you for joining us. the general feeling was that basically the 24th of december

libya has been engulfed in violence and political divisions since the revolution that toppled muammar gaddafi11. with a warlord controlling the oil-rich reason -- oil-rich region of eastern libya and the government of unity in the west led by the prime minister pin both men are among scores of candidates running in the elections. across libya, people have mixed feelings. >> in my opinion, presidential elections right now should not take place. you should not have presidential elections before the parliamentary elections and there should be a constitution. >> i am in favor of these elections. at least the situation will get better. we want our country to move forward. it is the only way to end the violence. >> three weeks ahead of the vote, libyans are still deeply divided. there is international pressure for the elections to move ahead as scheduled. without a consultation in place, many feel prúoúóc?c?c?c?ióqoxox■ (insects chirping) (birds tweeting) (dramatic music)

libya has seen 10 years of political divisions and conflict since the revolution that toppled muammar gaddafi in 2011. >> the international community has painted presidential and parliamentary elections as the only way to unite the country, but without a constitution or legal framework, many here believe a presidential election will only further the conflict. >> the united nations' world food program announced it will have to reduce rations 8 million people in yemen because of a lack of funding. the cutbacks will start in january. the agency warns of serious consequences as hunger rises. the country has been on the brink of famine since 2016. the wf pss 5 million people are close to starvation. a senior spokeswoman with the world food program says the a budget set aside for yemen has shrunk due to multiple global crises. >> these cuts are coming at the worst possible time for the 13 million people who are dependent on the assistance to survive. 5 million people are on the brink of famine, and these are the ones that will keep their food rations intact. these are the people basically surviving