UN envoy sets last deadline to reach deal for Libya's crisis

September 20 must be the last deadline to reach deal for Libya's crisis, UN envoy for Libya said late Thursday in the Moroccan city of Skhirat.

Talking to reporters at the opening of a new round of talks between Libya's warring parties, Bernardino Leon said "we are very hopeful that they (parties) will understand that this deadline of the 20th of September must be the last one, must be the one that will allow Libya to get out of this crisis."

Expressing the UN's concerns over the killing of civilians and the advance of The Islamic State group in the country, he stressed that the international community is not only condemning this but also asking the Libyans to understand that "enough is enough."

"All the Libyans are asking their representatives, politicians, independents, civil society that are gathering here in Skhirat to reach a deal, to put the interest of their country above any other consideration," he said.

The Libyan parties are expected to discuss in this new round the annexes of the UN-brokered political agreement and the candidates to the posts of prime minister of Government of National Accord and his two deputies.

The UN-brokered political agreement was initialed in July by the Tubrok-based parliament alongside representatives of political parties, municipalities and civil society groups, whereas the General National Congress (GNC) did not join the accord.

Libya, a major oil producer in North Africa, has been witnessing a frayed political process after former leader Muammar Gaddafi was toppled during the 2011 political turmoil.

The country is now deadlocked in a dogfight between the pro-secular army and Islamist militants, which has led to a security vacuum for homegrown extremism to brew.

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