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A new round of talks between Libya’s warring factions kicked off in the Moroccan city of Skhirat on Thursday, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said in a statement.
The talks are focusing on expediting the dialogue process with a view to finalising the Libyan Political Agreement, including reaching agreement on a Government of National Accord.
The UN- brokered political agreement was initialed in July by the Tubrok-based parliament alongside representatives of political parties, municipalities and civil society groups, whereas the General National Congress (GNC) did not join the accord.
The UNSMIL said that it has been informed by the GNC that its team will not be attending this round of talks in Skhirat, explaining that the GNC needs to reorganize its negotiating team following the resignation of two members.
The GNC assured UNSMIL that it remains committed to the dialogue process and will participate in the next session.
In his briefing to the Security Council on the eve of the resumption of talks, UN Secretary-General Special Representative for Libya, Bernardino Leon, said Wednesday that the political dialogue process is finally drawing to its final stages.
He stressed that the talks had come a long way in narrowing the trust deficit among Libya’s political stakeholders.
“I call on both (parliaments) not to squander the hard work they have invested over the past seven months to arrive at the point where they are today,” he said.
He added that the agreement “may not be perfect, but it is a fair and reasonable one, in which the only winners are the Libyan people.”
Libya, a major oil producer in North Africa, has been witnessing a frayed political process after former leader Muammar Gaddafi was toppled during the 2011 political turmoil.
The country is now deadlocked in a dogfight between the pro-secular army and Islamist militants, which has led to a security vacuum for homegrown extremism to brew.
The UN has brokered several rounds of dialogues between the conflicting parties since last September, but clashes persisted despite a truce agreed by the warring factions.
