Libyan PM stresses support for UN-proposed action plan

TRIPOLI, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- Libya's UN-backed Prime Minister Fayez Serraj stressed Monday his support for the action plan proposed by the Head of the UN Support Mission in Libya, Ghassan Salame.

Serraj made his remarks during a meeting with Salame in the capital Tripoli, where the two officials discussed the latest political developments in the country.

"The prime minister reiterated his support for the mission of the UN envoy and the steps taken to complete the current transitional phase, leading up to the elections and beginning of building a stable Libya," the prime minister's media office said in a statement.

Salame proposed an action plan last September to end the political crisis in Libya. The plan includes amendment of the current UN-sponsored political agreement and holding presidential and parliamentary elections before the end of 2018.

The meeting also discussed the return of internally displaced people of Tawergha city, where Serraj revealed that a mechanism had been developed for their return in February.

"The prime minister said that there is a mechanism to implement the reconciliation agreement between Misurata and Tawergha cities, and that the return of the people of Tawergha will start on Feb. 1. He expressed hope that the event will be the beginning of a new phase of civil peace," the statement added.

During the 2011 uprising, some residents of Tawergha allied with the forces of the former regime of Gaddafi to fight the rebels of the nearby city of Misurata.

After Gaddafi's regime was toppled, those residents, accused by Misurata of actively participating in the fighting against them, fled their homes to others cities in Libya. Since then, they have been internally displaced.

In August 2016, representatives of Tawergha and Misurata cities signed a UN-sponsored draft reconciliation agreement to allow Tawerghan refugees to return home. Enditem