TRIPOLI
United Nations Special Envoy to Libya, Bernardino Leon, warned on Saturday against imminent political, economic and security crises in the restive Arab country.
"The political situation [in Libya] is extremely difficult and several cities have recently come under attack," Leon told the press in Geneva.
He said the crisis would worsen in the coming days if a deal was not reached among the country's political and military rivals.
Leon urged Libya's warring factions to agree on a peaceful solution to the country's problems as soon as possible with the aim of rescuing their country from terrorism.
He said he agreed on Thursday with representatives of Libya's political forces – now engaged in dialogue in Geneva – to resume the dialogue next week.
He added that the location of the next round of talks had not been decided yet.
On Thursday, participants in the UN-sponsored dialogue agreed to move the next round of talks to Libya if proper logistical and security conditions were present.
The agreement came after a second round of peace talks took place in Geneva with the participation of some of Libya's rival factions.
Key representatives from the Tripoli-based government, however, refused to attend the talks, demanding the dialogue be held in Libya.
Libya has remained in a state of turmoil since the fall of the Gaddafi regime in 2011.
Rival militias have frequently clashed in the country's main cities, including the capital Tripoli and the eastern city of Benghazi.
Libya's political divisions have yielded two rival seats of government in the country, each of which has its own institutions.
Vying for legislative authority are the newly-elected House of Representatives, which convenes in the eastern city of Tobruk, and the General National Congress, which – even though its mandate has ended – continues to convene in Tripoli.
The two assemblies support two different governments respectively headquartered in the two cities.
