Libya peace conference ‘still being planned’

Libya would be discussed in Rome on Sunday but it was unclear how the Italian-sponsored conference will unfold, Foreign Minister George Vella said.
Dubbed as the “peace conference” by Italy’s Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni, the meeting is intended to give the Libya peace process a boost.
UN-sponsored talks have so far failed to produce a unity government as the country remains split between two rival administrations and numerous militias.
The power vacuum has allowed Islamic State to gain a foothold in the country and the extremists now control the coastal city of Sirte, where reports last week spoke of children “graduating” as fighters.
Dr Vella said he would be in Rome between Thursday and Saturday for a three-day conference on security in the Mediterranean sponsored by the Italian Foreign Ministry but could not say whether he would be invited to the Sunday talks.

“I will be a speaker in one of the panels for the conference on security in the Mediterranean but the Sunday meeting is still being planned and it is unclear whether the Italians will bring together the members of the UN Security Council and some other North African countries like Morocco,” he said.
The three-day...