TRIPOLI
The second round of national dialogue talks among Libya's political and military rivals will be held in Libya, a member of the country's General National Congress (GNC), which convenes in capital Tripoli, has said.
Abdel-Qader Houili told The Anadolu Agency on Sunday that a decision in this regard was taken during a meeting in Istanbul between the United Nations Special Envoy to Libya, Bernardino Leon, and GNC Speaker, Nouri Abusahmain.
The members of the GNC, whose mandate has already come to an end, held a session on Sunday to select the Libyan city that would host the next round of the national dialogue talks, Houili said.
However, the date of the new round of talks has not been decided yet.
A GNC member told AA earlier that the Tripoli parliament had agreed to participate in the U.N.-sponsored dialogue, which is now being held in Geneva, provided that this dialogue is held in Libya.
Libya has remained in a state of turmoil since the fall of the Muammar Gaddafi regime in 2011. Rival militias have frequently clashed in Libya's main cities, including capital Tripoli and the eastern city of Benghazi.
Political divisions have yielded two rival seats of government in the country, each of which has its own institutions.
Vying for legislative authority are the internationally-backed House of Representatives, which convenes in the eastern city of Tobruk, and the Islamist-led General National Congress, which – even though its mandate has ended – continues to convene in Tripoli.
The two assemblies support two different governments headquartered in the two respective cities as well as two military entities.
While the House has the support of much of the Libyan army and troops loyal to army commander Khalifa Haftar, the Congress is backed by Islamist militias which helped topple Gaddafi in 2011.
