This photo released by Al Azhar, shows U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, left, during a meeting with Muslim cleric Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, the grand imam, at the Al Azhar headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday April 2, 2019. The U.N. chief has expressed solidarity with Muslims the world over during a visit to Cairo, denouncing hate speech and racism, as well as anti-Semitism. (Al Azhar via AP)
April 03, 2019 - 8:47 AM
CAIRO - The U.N. chief says he is visiting Libya to prevent a major confrontation between rival authorities in the country.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says Wednesday that Libya was at the centre of talks with Egypt President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi at the end of his two-day visit to Cairo.
He says he hopes that a meeting between Khalifa Hifter, leader of the self-styled Libyan National Army, and Fayez Sarraj, head of the U.N.-backed government earlier this year in Abu Dhabi will be an important step to guarantee unifying Libya's institutions.
Guterres's visit to Libya comes two weeks before a U.N.-brokered national conference aimed at uniting the country and charting a roadmap to elections.
Libya slid into chaos after the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed long-time ruler Moammar Gadhafi.
News from © The Associated Press, 2019