Libya's GNC accuses rival parliament of disrupting dialogue

Libya's Islamist-backed parliament the General National Congress (GNC) on Tuesday accused the internationally recognized parliament the House of Representatives of disrupting the UN-sponsored political dialogue.

The House of Representatives has no genuine desire to reach a political solution to the crisis, especially by demanding the UN Security Council to lift the arms embargo and appointing Haftar as commander in chief of the army, GNC spokesman Omar Hemidan said at a news conference.

The House of Representatives, based in the eastern city of Tobruk, has asked the UN mission in Libya to postpone the dialogue session for a week for consultations on proposals to resolve the crisis. The UN mission did not respond yet to the request.

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

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

Libya has been witnessing frayed political process since the 2011 turmoil, which toppled its former leader Muammar Gaddafi, and it 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 warring with 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 consequent shortages in both food and medical supplies along with mounting numbers of casualties.

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