Libya's rivals start UN-led talks to reach accord

Libya's rival factions began much-awaited political peace talks in a Tunisian town on the Mediterranean Sea on Monday.

Brokered by the United Nations, the goal of the talks is to draw a roadmap to presidential and parliamentary elections.

The U.N. selected 75 delegates from Libya to take part in the six-day forum in a hotel in Gammarth, aimed at ending the political chaos that engulfed the North African nation after the 2011 overthrow and killing of dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

Tunisian President Kais Said attended the talks' opening ceremony.

He said participants had "an appointment with history" that they should not let pass them by.

Said called on those who will lead the transitional period to refrain from running in the next presidential or parliamentary elections.

Stephanie Williams, the top U.N. official in Libya, told journalists Sunday night that preparatory meetings have been positive.

But previous diplomatic initiatives to end the conflict have repeatedly collapsed.

These latest talks however came amid heavy international pressure to start talks.

Warring sides agreed to a U.N.-brokered cease-fire agreement last month in Geneva.

Oil-rich Libya is now split between a U.N.-supported government in the capital, Tripoli, and rival authorities based in the east.

Those sides are backed by an array of local militias, as well as regional and foreign powers.

Eastern Libya forces, led by commander Khalifa Hifter, launched an offensive in April 2019 to try and capture Tripoli.

His campaign collapsed in June when the Tripoli-allied militias, with heavy Turkish support, gained the upper hand.