Algeria To Host Libya Crisis Talks, Says U.N.
The United Nations said Wednesday that representatives of Libyan leaders had been invited for talks next week in Algeria as part of efforts to resolve their country's conflict.
"The United Nations Support Mission in Libya announces that a meeting of representatives of Libyan political leaders and activists will convene early next week in Algeria," UNSMIL said.
"The mission continues to reach out to leaders of armed groups to work on reaching a ceasefire, and urges all groups to constructively engage with its efforts in this regard," it said in a statement.
An Algerian minister, meanwhile, said his country had already hosted secret meetings in recent months between 200 Libyan figures.
"Some of them (the meetings) have resulted in signatures," said Abdelader Messahel, minister for African and Maghreb affairs.
Ahead of next week's meeting in Algiers, Libya's rival parliaments are due to hold talks in Morocco on Thursday, according to UNSMIL and deputies.
Also, UNSMIL said it will convene in Brussels next week a second meeting of municipal representatives from across Libya to work on confidence-building measures.
Opposing militias in Libya, awash with weapons since its 2011 revolution that toppled longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi, are battling for control of its cities and oil wealth.
Libya has rival governments and parliaments, those recognized by the international community sitting in the far east of the country and the others with ties to Islamists in the capital Tripoli.
Since launching efforts at dialogue in September, U.N. envoy Bernardino Leon has been unable to bring together leading players from the rival camps.
Source: Agence France Presse
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