Libyan rival parliament suspends UN sponsored peace talks

TRIPOLI — A parliament set up in Libya to rival the elected assembly has suspended UN-sponsored peace talks because of what it called fresh violence from the country's recognised government, a spokesman said on Wednesday.

Last week, the United Nations launched a new round of talks in Geneva aimed at defusing the oil producer's violent struggle between two governments and parliaments vying for control four years after the ousting of Muammar Qadhafi.

The rival assembly, known as the General National Congress (GNC), was set up after an armed group called Libya Dawn seized the capital, Tripoli, last summer. The internationally recognised prime minister, Abdullah Al Thinni, transferred his government to the east.

However, GNC spokesman Omar Hmeidan said representatives of the Tripoli assembly would not now take part in any UN sponsored talks, accusing troops allied to the opposing government of storming a central bank branch in the eastern city of Benghazi and committing other acts of violence.

Troops loyal to Thinni took over the central bank branch after expelling Islamist fighters from the area, a commander told Reuters.

"The army has controlled the central bank [in Benghazi] for some time, not just today. The central bank is now safe," said Colonel Farraj Al Barasi, an army commander running a military sector in eastern Benghazi.

"We've moved out the technical equipment. The cash is still in the safes," he said, adding that a committee would decide what to do with the money.

A Reuters reporter saw damage to the central bank building, which is located near Benghazi port — the scene of heavy battles for weeks between Thinni's troops and Islamists such as Ansar Al Sharia.