TRIPOLI, Libya
A fresh round of talks aimed at resolving Libya’s ongoing political crisis is set to begin next week in Geneva, a U.N. spokesman said Friday.
According to Ahmed Fozi, the talks -- which will be held from Monday to Wednesday -- will be attended by at least 30 Libyan officials.
Fozi, however, did not provide the names of individuals or the political parties that planned to attend next week’s talks, saying only that the talks would be held at the U.N.’s Geneva headquarters.
Earlier rounds of talks were held in Moroccan capital Rabat.
In a statement, Bernardino Leon, the U.N. secretary-general’s special envoy for Libya, urged participants to “continue working together towards narrowing existing differences and forging a common platform that can form the basis for a peaceful resolution of the political and military conflict in Libya.”
Libya has remained in turmoil since a bloody uprising ended the decades-long rule of strongman Muammar Gaddafi in late 2011.
Since then, the country's stark political divisions have yielded two rival seats of government, each of which boasts its own institutions and military capacities.
Vying for legislative authority are a Tobruk-based House of Representatives and a General National Congress that convenes in capital Tripoli.
The two assemblies support two rival governments respectively headquartered in the two cities.
It remains unclear if both governments will send representatives to next week’s scheduled talks in Geneva.
