GNA Receives No Invitation To Next Berlin Conference On Libyan Conflict - Lawmaker

Faizan Hashmi Published October 08, 2019 | 12:11 AM

Libya's Government of National Accord (GNA) and House of Representatives (HoR) haven't received invitations to attend an international conference on Libya that is set to be held in Berlin within several weeks, HoR member Ali Saidi Qaidi told Sputnik on Monday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 07th October, 2019) Libya's Government of National Accord (GNA) and House of Representatives (HoR) haven't received invitations to attend an international conference on Libya that is set to be held in Berlin within several weeks, HoR member Ali Saidi Qaidi told Sputnik on Monday.

Berlin is planning to host another UN-backed international conference regarding the Libyan crisis in late October or early November. The most recent event in this format was organized on September 17 and was attended by representatives of the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Russia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, the League of Arab States and the European Union.

"We were not invited," Qaidi said, adding that the country did not need any settlement conferences outside it.

He stressed that the event would bring "no positive result at all."

A spokesman for the HoR, Abdullah Balhiq, has also confirmed to Sputnik in the eastern city of Tobruk that the Berlin conference on Libya was for international parties only.

"The Berlin conference on Libya is for the international parties and the Libyan parties are not invited," Balhiq said.

Last week, the African Union expressed hesitation concerning its participation in the German conference.

Since the overthrow and killing of long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has been gripped by conflict. The country is now divided between two governments, with the country's eastern half controlled by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA), while the western half is headed by the UN-backed GNA.

In April, the LNA launched an offensive to retake Tripoli from forces loyal to the GNA. The latter responded by launching a counteroffensive called Volcano of Rage.