TRIPOLI: The United Nations said Thursday it would work toward helping Libya’s rival factions agree on contested points preventing long-delayed presidential and legislative elections being held in the conflict-scarred nation.
Early Wednesday, envoys of Libya’s factions said after more than two weeks of talks in Morocco they had agreed on the legal steps required for new elections.
But they stopped short of signing an agreement, indicating that they had differences that still need to be resolved.
Elections in the North African country had been due in December 2021 but were never organized, as disputes persisted on key issues including who should stand in the polls.
Libya has been torn by more than a decade of stop-start conflict since a 2011 revolt toppled strongman Muammar Qaddafi, with myriad militias forming opposing alliances backed by foreign powers.
The country remains split between a nominally interim government in Tripoli in the west, and another in the east backed by military strongman Khalifa Haftar.
On Thursday, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said in a statement it “takes note” of the outcome of the Morocco talks. –Agencies
