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UN invites Sudan to help talk Libyan parties into signing draft deal

Xinhua, May 4, 2015 Adjust font size:

Sudan said on Sunday that the United Nations has asked it to help talk the warring parties in Libya into signing a draft deal mediated by the UN.

"The UN has invited Sudan to intervene to persuade the parties at conflict in Libya to sign the draft agreement," Ali Al-Saddiq, Sudanese foreign ministry spokesman, told reporters Sunday.

The UN Support Mission in Libya last week distributed a draft for political agreement in Libya, where The UN Special Envoy to Libya, Bernardino Leon, explained to participants in the dialogue that the draft was based on discussions conducted during the last three months.

Khartoum gathered late last year a number of Libya's neighboring countries in a meeting to address the North African nation's crisis.

The communique issued after the meeting urged immediate cessation of all armed operations in Libya, resorting to dialogue to achieve peace and stability, and a new constitution for the country.

Libya previously accused Sudan of supporting the arming Libya's Dawn forces in their battles against the internationally-recognized Libyan government.

However, a visit by Libyan Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thani to Khartoum in October last year ended tensions between Khartoum and Tripoli.

Libya has suffered from increasing turmoil and chaos since the country's social unrest in 2011. The North African nation has also seen two rival parliaments and governments.

According to the country's transitional plan, the June-elected parliament, the House of Representatives, has replaced the former interim General National Congress (GNC).

However, armed Islamist alliance Libya Dawn, after achieving a series of military successes since July in western Libya, supports the GNC in assuming power and forming its own government against the new one.

The UN plan suggests forming a national unity government and granting legitimacy to the elected parliament.

However, the GNC said this violates a Libyan Supreme Court ruling which overturned a constitutional amendment through which the new house was elected.

The UN brokered several rounds of dialogues between opposing parties since September, nonetheless clashes remain despite a truce agreed on by factions. Endit