UN chief visiting Libya after talks with Egypt’s el-Sissi

CAIRO – The U.N. chief says he is visiting Libya to prevent a major confrontation between rival authorities in the country.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says Wednesday that Libya was at the centre of talks with Egypt President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi at the end of his two-day visit to Cairo.

He says he hopes that a meeting between Khalifa Hifter, leader of the self-styled Libyan National Army, and Fayez Sarraj, head of the U.N.-backed government earlier this year in Abu Dhabi will be an important step to guarantee unifying Libya’s institutions.

Guterres’s visit to Libya comes two weeks before a U.N.-brokered national conference aimed at uniting the country and charting a roadmap to elections.

Libya slid into chaos after the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed long-time ruler Moammar Gadhafi.