African leaders hold Libyan reconciliation talks in July in Addis Ababa
African leaders on Thursday said they would hold Libyan reconciliation talks in July in Addis Ababa, the latest attempt to broker an end to fighting in the North African state.
International efforts to end Libya’s conflict have stumbled and Tripoli’s African neighbours have been seeking a wider role in resolving the crisis.
At a meeting in the Republic of Congo, President Denis Sassou Nguesso was joined by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Chadian leader Idriss Deby Itno, AU commission chief Moussa Faki Mahamat and Algerian Prime Minister Abdelaziz Djerad.
It was the second meeting in the Congo since a January summit in Berlin where world leaders agreed to halt foreign interference in Libya and impose an arms embargo.
The African Union group decided to hold the inter-Libyan conference in Ethiopia, a statement said after the Congo meeting.
It was not immediately clear who would attend the talks however.
Tripoli’s UN-recognised government is battling eastern commander Khalifa Haftar in the latest fighting in Libya since the 2011 fall of long-time dictator Moamar Kadhafi.
The meeting in Congolese town of Oyo was called following the resignation of the UN special representative on Libya, Gassane Salame.
His resignation capped months of work to broker a ceasefire after Haftar launched an offensive in April to seize Tripoli.
The unity government in Tripoli is supported by Turkey, while Haftar is backed by Russia, a permanent member of the UN Security Council.
