Libyan secular parliament urges postponement of peace talks

Tripoli, March 11: Libya's secular parliament has requested the UN to postpone peace talks for a week to allow more time to discuss the next government's roadmap, media reported citing a house spokesperson.

"We request postponement of the dialogue session for a week to discuss the next government's roadmap, jurisdictions, timeframe..." said Farraj Hashem, spokesperson for the House of Representatives, according to a news report on Tuesday.

The UN mission to Libya plans to organise a new round of dialogue between Libya's political factions in Morocco on Wednesday.

The UN-sponsored dialogue between Libya's warring factions paused last Saturday, allowing time for representatives from rival parties to think over plans to solve the ongoing crisis.

Libya has witnessed a stormy political climate since the 2011 turmoil, which toppled its former leader Muammar Gaddafi, and the country is now juggling two rival parliaments -- the secular House of Representatives and the Islamist-backed General National Congress.

Forces loyal to the two major factions have been battling each other in cities like Tripoli, Benghazi and Gharyan, causing a humanitarian crisis with at least 120,000 people forced to leave their homes, and resulting in shortages of food and medical supplies along with a mounting number of casualties.

The UN has held several rounds of dialogue between the conflicting parties since September, but clashes have continued although the rival factions had agreed on a truce.

IANS