UN mission says Libya talks will resume in Morocco this week

CAIRO – The United Nations mission in Libya says talks between the country's rival factions will resume this week in Morocco.

The U.N. and its envoy to Libya, Bernardino Leon, have been trying to help resolve the crisis in the North African country, now bitterly divided between two rival governments and multiple militias. The U.N.-mediated talks were previously held in Geneva and Libya.

Tuesday's statement from UNSMIL says the Morocco round will focus on the formation of a national unity government, securing a ceasefire and the withdrawal of militias from cities and towns.

Representatives from both parliaments are expected to attend the talks.

The Tripoli-based parliament is backed by Islamist-allied militias that seized the capital last year, forcing the democratically elected parliament to relocate to the eastern city of Tobruk.