Libya's Islamist-backed parliament to join peace talks on conditions
Xinhua, January 19, 2015 Adjust font size:
Libya's Islamist-backed parliament, the General National Congress (GNC), announced on Sunday that it would join the UN-sponsored peace talks on the condition that they are held inside Libya, according to officials.
GNC spokesman Omar Hemidan said at a news conference that they are ready to resolve the current crisis with the internationally recognized parliament, the House of Representatives, through talks held on Libyan territories.
Hemidan said the GNC had raised a proposal to hold the talks in the southern city of Ghat instead of the Swiss city of Geneva.
After the removal of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, the country is now deadlocked in turmoil with two rival governments and two parliaments, which are backed by secular and Islamist forces respectively.
The armed forces affiliated to the two sides have been warring since last May, leaving at least 1,000 people killed and more than 100,000 displaced.
The UN-sponsored peace talks are aimed at ending the current political crisis through a truce and forming a united government.
In September 2014, the United Nations held the first round of talks, bringing together different factions to the border oasis town of Ghadames, but the GNC did not participate. Endit