Libya talks to resume in Algiers Monday

Algeria said on Friday that talks between Libya's rival factions will resume in Algiers next week in the presence of the UN special envoy for the violence-ridden country, Bernardino Leon.

Abdelkader Messahel, Algeria's minister for African and Maghreb affairs, told the APS news agency the talks will resume on Monday.

The United Nations has said the talks would focus on the formation of a government of national unity, as well as security measures in Libya.

Algeria also hosted talks on Libya last month, when Libyan political figures called for an "immediate halt" to military operations.

Opposing militias in Libya, awash with weapons since its 2011 revolution that toppled longtime leader Moamer Kadhafi, are battling for control of its cities and oil wealth.

Libya has rival governments and parliaments, those recognised by the international community sitting in the far east of the country and the others with ties to Islamists in the capital Tripoli.

"There are two options: a political accord or destruction," Leon warned on March 10. "Destruction is not an option."

Envoys of six parties and five activists said their Algiers declaration, after two days of talks, aimed to send "a strong, clear and united message on their commitment to consider dialogue as the only way forward and to reject violence".

They called for "an immediate halt to military operations to allow dialogue to continue".

Last month's two-page declaration commits the signatories to respect the national unity and territorial integrity of Libya.
Source: AFP