Libyan government calls for cease-fire

The Libyan government on Friday announced a cease-fire and ordered the military to stop all combat operations.

The Tripoli-seated Government of National Accord said that the "cease-fire requires the areas of Sirte and al-Jufra to be demilitarized within security arrangements."

It called for presidential and parliamentary elections in March.

For his part, Aguila Saleh, speaker of pro-Khalifa Haftar Libyan parliament, called on all parties for immediate cease-fire.

He said the truce will make Sirte a temporary seat for a new presidential council to be guarded by police forces from various regions in the country.

UN welcomed both cease-fire initiatives and activating political process.

Libya has been torn by civil war since the ouster of late ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The Government of National Accord (GNA) was founded in 2015 under a UN-led agreement, but efforts for a long-term political settlement failed due to a military offensive by forces loyal to warlord Khalifa Haftar.

The UN recognizes the government headed by premier Fayez al-Sarraj as the country's legitimate authority, as Tripoli has battled Haftar's militias since April 2019 in a conflict that has claimed thousands of lives.