Rival Libya administrations to meet in Morocco: source

Reluctance from both sides to announce the meeting is due to preconditions they have set for the talks, sources say.

2 min read

06 September, 2020

Morocco was where an accord to set up the GNA was signed, in 2015 [Getty]

Delegates from Libya's rival administrations will meet for talks in Morocco on Sunday, a Moroccan diplomatic source said, after the two sides announced a surprise ceasefire last month.

Neither of the camps - the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA), based in the Libyan capital Tripoli, or the eastern-based parliament backed by military strongman Khalifa Haftar - have announced the meeting.

Their reticence is due to preconditions set for the talks on both sides, according to Libyan sources.

The discussions will take place in a coastal resort south of Morocco's capital Rabat, and will be attended by five delegates from each side, the Moroccan diplomatic source said.

Libya has endured almost a decade of violent chaos since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed veteran dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

The warring sides announced separately on August 22 that they would cease all hostilities and hold nationwide elections, drawing praise from world powers after a series of fruitless initiatives in recent years to stop the conflict.

Read also: Libya ceasefire: Window of opportunity or doomed to fail?

Haftar is supported by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates as well as Russia, while the GNA is backed by Turkey and Qatar.

At a January summit in Berlin, the main countries involved in the Libyan conflict agreed to respect an arms embargo and to stop interfering in Libya's domestic affairs.

Morocco was also where, after months of negotiations, an accord was signed in December 2015 by civil society representatives and lawmakers to set up the GNA.

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