UN envoy reports positive start to Libya talks in Geneva

GENEVA, Feb 4 (MENA) - United Nations envoy Ghassan Salamé told reporters on Tuesday said that rival Libyan military factions are meeting in Geneva with the aim of securing a "lasting ceasefire," Swissinfo reported.

Military officers of rival factions from the North African country began UN-led talks in Geneva on Monday, aimed at building trust and working out a monitoring mechanism for a ceasefire after ten months of fighting on the outskirts of the capital, Tripoli.

Salamé said the two sides initiated indirect talks "on transforming truce into a lasting" ceasefire and that there was a "genuine will to start negotiating together".

He thanked Switzerland for its "precious help" in organizing the Geneva meeting.

The so-called "Libyan Joint Military Commission" includes five senior officers from eastern commander Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA) and five officers from the internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA).