Warring Libyan parties agree to hold new talks

Libya's warring parties have agreed to hold a new round of peace talks in Geneva to end the North African country's political and security crises, the UN said Saturday.

The meeting will take place next week at the UN Office at Geneva, Xinhua news agency reported citing a statement issued by the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).

The dialogue aims at reaching an agreement on the transitional period, including the formation of a unity government and adopting a new constitution.

The talks will also seek security measures to end the armed hostilities raging in different parts of the country, the statement added.

In order to create a conducive environment for the dialogue, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Libya and head of UNSMIL, Bernardino Leon, has proposed to the parties to the conflict a freeze in the military operations for a few days.

Libya has been torn by rival governments and parliaments, as well as battling powerful militias, since the Libya Dawn militants took over Tripoli last August.

Two rival parliaments and governments have been fighting for legitimacy, dragging the country deeper into a crisis despite UN efforts to broker talks on ending the violence.

The first round of the UN-brokered national dialogue was held in Libya's southwestern city of Ghadames Sep 29 last year during which most parties agreed on a truce, but no ceasefire actually took place.