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The article reports that diplomats from 17 nations including the U.S. on December 13, 2015 urged leaders of some of Libya's rival political factions to form a unity government that could reverse Libya's descent into anarchy and prevent extremist groups like Islamic State from seizing more territory.

The article reports capsize of an overcrowded fishing boat carrying migrants to Europe off the coast of Libya on August 5, 2015 after being approached by a rescue vessel.

ROME -- In response to the murderous tactics of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi's militias against unarmed protesters, the United States and the European Union have announced steps to freeze the government's assets, and the International Criminal Court has opened an investigation into possible crimes against humanity. But Italy -- which gets nearly a quarter of its crude oil and 10 percent of its natural gas from Libya, has billions of dollars in lucrative contracts with the Libyan government and receives billions more in Libyan investments -- has held back on freezing any assets. Officials say they are waiting for a ''coordinated'' response from the European Union about whether the measure applies to Libyan sovereign funds, a ruling that Italy said it hoped would come as soon as next week. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ROME --In response to the murderous tactics of Colonel Muammar el-Qaddafi's militias against unarmed protesters, the United States and the European Union have announced steps to freeze the regime's assets. The International Criminal Court has opened an investigation into Libya's possible crimes against humanity. But Italy gets nearly a quarter of its crude oil and 10 percent of its natural gas from Libya, has billions of dollars in lucrative contracts with the Libyan government and receives billions more in Libyan investments, has held back on freezing any assets. Officials say they are waiting for a ''coordinated'' response on whether the measure applied to Libyan sovereign funds, a ruling it said it hoped would come as soon as next week. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ROME -- Governments around the world scrambled Tuesday to evacuate their citizens from an increasingly chaotic Libya, chartering military and civilian planes and, in the case of Britain and Turkey, mobilizing military ships. The British foreign secretary, William Hague, said in a statement that many of the hundreds of British citizens inside Libya were stuck ''in Tripoli airport without immediate flights out of the country, following flight cancellations, closures of airspace and difficulties securing permits from the appropriate authorities.'' [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

PARIS -- France and Britain continued to press their hawkish position on Libya on Friday, saying they intend to take the lead in enforcing a no-flight zone. Both countries, the most adamant backers of the United Nations Security Council resolution to authorize military action in Libya, also pointed to the passage of the measure on Thursday as an important -- if rare -- example of European resolve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

TRIPOLI, Libya -- Mercenaries and army forces put down an attempt by protesters on Friday to break Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi's hold on this capital city, opening fire on crowds who had taken to the streets after prayers to mount their first major challenge to the government's crackdown, witnesses said. The bloodshed heightened a standoff that has pitted Colonel Qaddafi -- who vowed Friday to turn Libya into ''a hell'' as he hunkered down in his stronghold -- against a spreading rebel force and increasingly alarmed international community, which condemned the violence and promised sanctions in coming days. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Frantic operations to evacuate foreigners from the widening chaos in Libya continued Thursday, and European officials were already looking toward the next challenge: coping with what could be a huge influx of refugees from across the Mediterranean. More than 10,000 people crowded into Tripoli's main airport on Thursday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said. Amateur video posted by the British newspaper The Independent showed desperate travelers filling the trash-strewn terminal and flowing out the doors into the roads. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]