Libyans launch new round of UN-led political talks

AFP , Wednesday 11 Aug 2021

On Wednesday, the forum will again try to agree on a constitutional framework to govern the crucial parliamentary and presidential elections in December

Libya Peace Talks
FILE PHOTO Libya's peace talks in Tunisia, November 2020 AP

Delegates from war-torn Libya launched a new round of UN-led talks via video conference on Wednesday aiming to reach a compromise ahead of planned elections.

The meeting comes six weeks after the failure of negotiations held in Switzerland between the 75 participants from all sides gathered for the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum.

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya was forced to acknowledge the failure of that session after four days, due to a lack of consensus among the delegates.

On Wednesday, the forum will again try to agree on a constitutional framework to govern the crucial parliamentary and presidential elections in December.

Oil-rich Libya was plunged into chaos after dictator Moamer Kadhafi was toppled and killed in a 2011 NATO-backed uprising.

Two rival administrations later emerged. While Turkey supported an administration in Tripoli, the Libyan National Army's (LNA) commander Khalifa Haftar enjoyed backing from the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Russia.

Under a UN-backed ceasefire agreed last October, an interim administration was established in March to prepare for presidential and parliamentary polls on December 24.

The agreement was widely hailed as "historic" at the time.

*This story was edited by Ahram Online. 

 

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