By Mustafa Caglayan
NEW YORK
The UN special envoy for Libya Bernardino Leon told the Security Council on Tuesday that the country's rival groups agreed to Jan. 5 talks to discuss a three-point road map.
The conflict in Libya that began in 2011 have yielded two rival seats of government, each with its own institutions.
Speaking to reporters after Leon's briefing, the current Security Council president, ambassador Mahamat Cherif of Chad, said the council urged the parties to accept an immediate cease-fire.
He did not provide details on the peace plan.
Since September, the UN Support Mission in Libya has led efforts to resolve the country's political crisis.
Two assemblies currently vie for legislative authority: the House of Representatives, which convenes in Tobruk; and the General National Congress, which – even though its mandate ended this summer – continues to convene in the capital, Tripoli.
In the three years since the 2011 ouster and death of strongman Muammar Qaddafi, rival militias have often locked horns, frequently bringing violence to Libya's main cities.
The UN said fighting in recent months between armed groups resulted in hundreds of civilian deaths.
In a statement released Tuesday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein warned all parties involved in the fighting that abuses of international human rights are criminally liable, including before the International Criminal Court, which is investigating the situation in Libya.
“As a commander of an armed group, you are criminally liable under international law if you commit or order the commission of grave human rights abuses or fail to take reasonable and necessary measures to prevent or punish their commission,” Zeid said.
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