BENGHAZI — Libya's elected parliament has voted to stay in United Nations peace talks after calling for amendments to a proposed power-sharing deal aimed at ending the conflict between the country's two rival governments. Western governments are pushing the two factions to agree to the UN deal as the only way to end a crisis that threatens to split the North African OPEC state four years after an uprising ousted strongman Muammar Gaddafi. An internationally recognized government and elected House of Representatives operates in the east while a self-declared government and the re-instated former parliament known as the General National Congress or GNC holds the capital Tripoli. “The House of Representatives agreed on amendments of the last draft by the UN with 66 out of 76 members voting,” lawmaker Tareq Al-Jouroushi told Reuters on Wednesday. Libya has been sliding deeper into chaos, worrying Western powers who fear it will become a failed state just over the Mediterrean sea from mainland Europe. Militants allied to Daesh have also gained ground in the chaos. After months of negotiations in Europe, Algeria and Morocco, the UN talks are at a delicate stage with fighting continuing on the ground. — Reuters
