Libya national conference to be held as set: UN envoy

<p>By Walid Abdullah </p> <p>TRIPOLI (AA) – Libya's UN-backed “national dialogue” conference will be held as scheduled unless &quot;compelling circumstances&quot; force its postpone, the UN envoy said Saturday.</p> <p>&quot;Convening the conference in these conditions is tough but we have the desire to hold it as scheduled in mid-April, unless compelling circumstances force us to postpone it,&quot; Ghassan Salame said at a news conference held in capital Tripoli.</p> <p>Salame pointed out that UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres was surprised by the military escalation and informed all sides that the UN urges return to the political peace process.</p> <p>On April 14, a UN-sponsored “national dialogue” conference will be held in the western city of Ghadames with the ostensible aim of hammering out a political “roadmap” for the country’s future.</p> <p>On Thursday, Khalifa Haftar, commander of forces loyal to East Libya-based government, launched a military campaign to recapture Tripoli from UN-backed Government of National Accord forces.</p> <p>Libya has remained beset by turmoil since 2011, when a NATO-backed uprising led to the ouster and death of President Muammar Gaddafi after four decades in power.</p> <p>* Writing by Mahmoud Barakat</p>