Libyan rival parties hold peace talks in Tunisia

Peace talks between Libyan rival parties opened on Tuesday in Tunisia under the supervision of UN envoy to Libya Ghassan Salamé, less than a week after he presented his road map to the United Nations .

The participants are working to agree on the amendments to the Morocco agreement which will give a very strong signal to other Libyans that there is a possibility to work together.

“This will raise hope that things are moving. There are several stages in my action plan will be developed gradually especially at the parliamentary and constitutional level. I hope that before June or July Libya will be able to organise parliamentary and presidential elections. We will surely be prepared before then,” UN envoy to Libya, Ghassam Salamé said.

Libya has been torn between rival political powers since the collapse of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in 2011. An inter-Libyan agreement was signed in Morocco in late June under the aegis of the UN and a unity government (GNA) with Fayez al-Sarraj as Prime Minister.

Although it has been able to extend its influence in the capital since its installation in Tripoli in March 2016, the GNA is struggling to impose its authority on large parts of the country. It is in particular confronted with a rival authority power in the east with the support of the controversial Marshal Khalifa Haftar.