New round of Libyan political dialogue starts in Geneva

A new round of the Libyan political dialogue commenced at the United Nations Office at Geneva on Thursday, and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya, Bernardino Leon, will hold a number of meetings with the parties on Thursday and Friday.
The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) announced on Thursday that all parties invited to the meetings have confirmed their attendance.
During the latest similar talks the participants agreed that it is high time to conclude the talks that have been under way for seven months and there was reportedly consensus to make the final push to expedite the dialogue to conclude the agreement, according to the timelines they committed earlier.
Libya, a major oil producer in North Africa, has been witnessing a frayed political process after former leader Muammar Gaddafi was toppled during the 2011 political turmoil.
The country is now deadlocked in a dogfight between the pro-secular army and Islamist militants, which has led to a security vacuum for homegrown extremism to brew.