UN envoy says close to final Libya deal

UN envoy to Libya Bernardino Leon said Sunday that 80 percent of a UN draft proposal to resolve the Libyan crisis has been agreed to by the country’s warring factions.

There are yet issues that require further negotiations but an agreement can be reached on this matter, Leon said at a press conference in the Moroccan city of Skhirat.

The representatives of both sides need to go back to Libya for deliberations then return to Morocco the following week for a fresh round of talks, Leon added.

The UN envoy urged Libyan factions to work “for agreeing on a final wording for the UN proposal,” adding that he would hold a meeting with leaders of Libya’s armed groups next week for the first time ever.

“This is the first time that militia leaders would be meeting face to face without mediation,” he added.

Libya has remained in a state of turmoil since a bloody uprising ended the decades-long rule of strongman Muammar Gaddafi in late 2011.

Since then, the country’s stark political divisions have yielded two rival seats of government, each with its own institutions and military capacities.

Vying for legislative authority are the Tobruk-based House of Representatives and the Islamist-led General National Congress, which convenes in Tripoli.

The two assemblies support two rival governments respectively headquartered in the two cities.