Libya parties urge halt to military operations
A UN-brokered meeting among representatives of six Libyan parties has yielded a declaration calling for the cessation of military operations in the violence-wrecked country.
The attendees, envoys of six parties and five activists, agreed during the Wednesday meeting in the Algerian capital Algiers on the two-page declaration, which called for "an immediate halt to military operations to allow dialogue to continue."
According to the document, they aimed to send "a strong, clear and united message on their commitment to consider dialogue as the only way forward and to reject violence."
UN envoy Bernardino Leon, who also attended the talks, told a news conference the meeting was "an important step" towards peace.
"There are two options: a political accord or destruction," Leon warned on Tuesday. "Destruction is not an option."
Leon brokered direct talks held on March 4-7 in the Moroccan city of Skhirat between Libya's internationally-recognized government, which is based in the northeastern city of Tobruk, and a rival parliament in Tripoli.
UN attempts to broker an agreement between the rival governments have been stepped up due to the recent rise of groups allied to Takfiri militants and a steady flow of African migrants traveling to Europe from Libya.
Libya plunged into chaos after the ouster of longtime dictator, Muammar Gaddafi, which gave rise to a patchwork of heavily-armed militias and deep political divisions. Three years on, the country is still struggling with insecurity.
The oil-rich nation has been the scene of numerous clashes between government forces and rival militant groups that refuse to lay down arms.
HN/AS/MHB
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