GENEVA
A new round of talks to deal with the political crisis in Libya will begin on Monday at the United Nations in Geneva.
The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said the new round of talks are expected to continue until Wednesday.
Since the ouster and death of strongman Muammar Gaddafi in late 2011, Libya has been dogged by lawlessness and frequent clashes between rival groups that have left thousands dead and injured.
The country's stark political divisions have yielded two rival seats of government, each of which boasts its own institutions and military capacities.
UNSMIL chief, Bernardino Leon, urged the main parties to redouble their efforts and 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.
"Leon acknowledges that while some of the parties continue to have reservations about what has been achieved to date, it is important for all parties to continue working on jointly addressing and resolving these concerns within the framework of the dialogue process," UNSMIL said in a statement.
According to UN spokesman Ahmad Fawzi, the talks – which will be held from Monday to Wednesday – will be attended by at least 30 Libyan officials.
Vying for legislative authority are a Tobruk-based House of Representatives and a General National Congress that convenes in Tripoli.
The two assemblies support two rival governments respectively headquartered in the two cities.
It remains unclear if both governments will send representatives to tomorrow's scheduled talks in Geneva.
