By Osama bin Hamel
TRIPOLI
The U.N. Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said Thursday that Libyan political forces had responded "positively" to invitations to hold a dialogue aimed at resolving the country's political crisis.
In a statement, the mission said that the House of Representatives (parliament) and lawmakers who boycotted the assembly had responded positively to invitations by special U.N. envoy Bernardino Leon to discuss means of ending the ongoing crisis.
"UNSMIL reiterates that there can be no military solution to the conflict between the Libyan parties and that any effort to end it must be Libyan-led," the U.N. mission asserted.
According to the mission, the international community has expressed its support for the initiative, which aims to put Libya's political transition back on track.
The mission said that discussions would likely begin in earnest after the Muslim Eid al-Adha holidays, which will start early next month.
No Libyan political party, however, has yet confirmed its participation in the dialogue.
Libya has been dogged by instability since the 2011 ouster and death of longstanding ruler Muammar Gaddafi.
In the three years since, rival militias have frequently clashed, bringing violence to Libya's main cities, including capital Tripoli and the eastern city of Benghazi.
The government, meanwhile, has often appeared entirely absent from the scene.
The sharp political divisions have yielded two rival seats of government in the country, each of which has its own institutions.
Two assemblies currently vie for legislative authority: the newly-elected House of Representatives, which convenes in the eastern city of Tobruk; and the General National Congress, which – even though its mandate ended in August – continues to convene in capital Tripoli.
The two parliaments support two different governments respectively headquartered in the two cities.
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