Libya rival factions pull out of peace talks

The United Nations-sponsored peace talks aimed at bringing an end to more than 10 months of fighting in Libya have collapsed, as the two rival factions have suspended their participation.
The announcement came as talks between representatives of the UN-backed GNA and rival commander Khalifa Haftar’s LNA were under way. Just hours after the UN Libya mission said that officials from both sides had come up with a draft ceasefire deal, the GNA said it would not take part in the negotiations until progress was made on military negotiations. “It is in light of conclusions [from military discussions] that the high council would decide to take part or not in political dialogue”, the GNA’s high state council said.
The GNA blamed the LNA for shelling Tripoli’s port shortly after the negotiations got under way. “We have repeatedly asked that commissions of inquiry be established to investigate the violations, the forced displacements, the arbitrary detentions, the extrajudicial killings”, GNA prime minister Fayez al-Serraj said on Monday.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday confirmed for the first time that pro-Turkish Syrian fighters are in Libya alongside training teams dispatched by Turkey.
Turkey is the main GNA supporter, while the LNA is backed by the United Arab Emirates, France, Russia and Egypt. The UN has been aiming to push to cut off external military support for the warring factions, as the UAE and Turkey refuse to stop arming their allies. The UN’s efforts to reconcile the rivals have lasted almost a year.