Libya's elected parliament votes to extend own mandate - lawmaker

05/10/2015 - 19:53

BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - Libya's elected parliament voted on Monday to extend its mandate beyond its Oct. 20 expiry, a lawmaker said, in a move likely to complicate U.N. attempts to end a crisis between the country's two rival governments.

Libya is caught up in conflict between its recognised government with an elected parliament, and a rival self-declared government, each backed by competing armed factions.

House of Representatives lawmaker Amal Baeou told Reuters the elected parliament had voted to extend its mandate until a new legitimate body is elected.

The United Nations has been negotiating a peace agreement between the two main factions to form a unity government. It had been pushing for a deal before the Oct. 20 end of mandate to prevent the country falling deeper into crisis.

(Reporting by Ayman Al-Warfalli; writing by Patrick Markey; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)