Libya conference hopes to salvage planned December elections

By NOHA ELHENNAWY
Associated Press

CAIRO (AP) — Libya is hosting an international conference aimed at resolving the country’s thorniest issues ahead of general elections in December. Western, regional and United Nations representatives are meeting Thursday in the capital, Tripoli. On the table are several contentious issues, including maintaining the country’s ceasefire, uniting the many armed groups, and the withdrawal of foreign fighters. The conference comes a day after the 10-year anniversary of the death of the country’s longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Libya has been engulfed in chaos since a NATO-backed uprising toppled Gadhafi in 2011, ushering in nearly a decade of civil war that has been fueled by foreign powers and domestic militias.