Libya’s two main rival leaders have agreed to call a conditional ceasefire and hold elections early next year. <br /><br />The diplomatic breakthrough followed talks in Paris hosted by Emmanuel Macron. <br /><br />The French president said Libya’s UN-backed prime minister, Fayez al-Sarraj and General Khalifa Haftar had displayed “historic courage”. <br /><br />The deal marks a step towards a political settlement aimed at ending years of violence on Europe’s doorstep.<br /><br />“This process is essential for the whole of Europe, because if we don’t succeed, the terror risk and the migratory consequences that such a failure would produce, would have direct consequences for our countries,” Macron said. <br /><br />Libya has been in turmoil since its former leader Colonel Gaddafi was ousted in 2011. <br /><br />For now, General Haftar’s Libyan National Army, which controls large tracts of the east of the country, has so far refused to recognise the UN-backed Government of National Accord based in Tripoli. <br /><br />Haftar’s forces have won a string of military victories leaving them in control of key ports and the city of Benghazi.<br />
