Tunis hotel hosting Libya peace talks confirms three coronavirus cases

The talks are to convene in-person on Monday to start the process of ending the Libyan crisis

This handout photo released on October 23, 2020 by the United Nations Office in Geneva shows Head of the Libyan Arab Armed Forces delegation A. Amhimmid Mohamed Alamami (L) and Head of the Government Show more

Three cases of coronavirus were reported on Sunday at the hotel hosting the Libyan peace talks in Tunis.

The hotel is moving to contain the cases so that the one-day summit, which is part of efforts to permanently end the Libyan civil war, can go ahead as scheduled on Monday, Libya 24 reported.

It is not yet clear which hotel the talks are being hosted in.

The summit will be hosted in-person and are aimed at finding a political solution to years of division that sees the country divided between rival administrations in the east and west.

A three-day meeting last week focused on the implementation of the ceasefire agreement reached last month between the government in Tripoli and Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army.

Walid El Hajjam, the diplomatic attaché in the Tunisian presidency's office, said that it is hoped a historic agreement will be reached.

The dialogue is the outcome of a long journey of consultations and co-ordination between Tunisia and the United Nations Support Mission in Libya.

The UN acting envoy to Libya, Stephanie Williams, said in a press statement on Saturday that the aim of the Tunisia summit is a road map towards constitutional elections.

A major oil producer, Libya has been wracked by violence since a Nato-backed uprising in 2011 overthrew and killed veteran leader Muammar Qaddafi.

Since then, the North African country has been dominated by armed groups, riven by local conflicts and divided between two bitterly opposed administrations.