Libyan Islamist-backed parliament announces readiness to return to peace talks

Libyan Islamist-backed parliament General National Congress (GNC) on Sunday announced it was prepared to return to peace talks after Libyan parties' signing of a UN-brokered political agreement in Morocco.

All the delegates attending the UN-brokered negotiations in Skhirat, Morocco on Saturday initialed the political agreement to form a unity government in Libya, but without the participation of the team from the GNC, who refused to participate in the latest discussions because of objections to parts of the text.

The GNC sent a letter to UN envoy Bernardino Leon after the signing ceremony, indicating that it was prepared to attend a new round of peace talks sponsored by the UN mission in Libya.

In the letter, however, the GNC said it would attend to put forward "fundamental and necessary" amendments it had previously proposed

Libya has been witnessing a frayed political process after the 2011 turmoil which toppled its leader Muammar Gaddafi. The country is now juggling two rival parliaments and governments.

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

However, the armed Islamist alliance Libya Dawn, which has achieved a series of military progress since July in western Libya, backed the GNC to resume power and form its own government against the new one.

The UN has brokered several rounds of dialogues between the conflicting parties since last September, but clashes persisted despite a truce agreed by the warring factions. Endit