‘Libyan rivals committed to ceasefire, elections’

Paris (AFP) – The two principal rivals in conflict-ridden Libya, who are to hold French-brokered talks Tuesday near Paris, are committed to a ceasefire and elections “as soon as possible”, said a draft talks statement.

The statement says Libya’s UN-backed Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj and Khalifa Haftar, the rival military commander who controls the east of the conflict-ridden country, also commit to hold presidential and parliamentary elections as soon as possible.

French officials at the talks stressed that the document was one of several working versions being circulated ahead of the meeting.

The 10-point version seen by AFP also says that only a political solution can end the crisis and it backs the Skhirat Agreement, agreed in 2015 with UN backing, as the basis for a political process in Libya.

The aim of Tuesday’s talks is to persuade the two sides to at least outline a roadmap for an end to a conflict that has plunged the oil-rich country into chaos since the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi.