Libya factions due in Geneva for fresh peace talks

Rival Libyan factions are set to take part in a fresh round of peace talks in a bid to end the violence and political chaos in the North African country.

The two-day negotiations will be held in the Swiss city of Geneva on Thursday and Friday, with the representative of Libya’s Tripoli-based government, which is not recognized by the international community, also in attendance.

On Wednesday, the parliament in Tripoli, known as General National Congress (GNC), announced that the government has decided to attend the Geneva talks.

“The GNC decided to participate in the dialogue sessions in Geneva. We are going to participate in a serious way,” said Mahmoud Abdelaziz, a member of the legislature.

The new talks, which will mainly be between the Tripoli administration and the internationally-recognized government in the Libyan eastern city of Tobruk, will be the latest in the long-running United Nations-brokered peace talks.

Both sides had agreed in January to set up a national unity government to restore stability to the country. However, negotiations over details and posts of key government positions in a possible unity government ran into hurdles.

The involvement of the CNG raises hopes for an agreement that could end the violence and unite Libya against extremist terrorists such as Daesh, which has in recent months extended its acts of terror from Iraq and Syria to other regions of the world, including North Africa.

Libya plunged into chaos following a popular revolution in 2011 that led to the ouster of its long-time dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

The North African nation currently has two rival administrations battling for control of the country, the one in Tripoli, and the other, the UN-backed government which was forced to flee Tripoli to Tobruk, northeastern Libya, last August.

According to the UN, about 435,000 people have become internally displaced as a result of the unrest in the country.

Libya is also threatened by a humanitarian crisis with figures suggesting about 1.2 million others do not have access to food.

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