Most of Libya's recognised parliament against UN deal: MP

A majority of lawmakers in Libya's internationally recognised parliament on Monday rejected a UN peace deal and a proposal for a national unity government, one of them said.

MP Ali Tekbali said the decision was made during a session of the parliament but that no vote took place.

"A majority of lawmakers decided to reject the (UN) proposals," Tekbali told AFP.

"No voting took place," he said "since the majority of the members have rejected the UN suggestions."

The official Lana news agency also reported that a "majority of lawmakers have announced their rejection of the proposals made by UN envoy Bernardino Leon".

Libya has had two administrations since August 2014, when a militia alliance overran the capital, forcing the internationally recognised government to take refuge in Tobruk in the east.

UN envoy Leon announced on 9 October proposals for a unity government after months of negotiations.

The Islamist-backed assembly based in Tripoli which is not recognised by the international government has also balked at the appointments.

The UN Security Council has threatened to impose sanctions on those who block a peace deal in Libya, which descended into chaos after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

The new UN-backed government would be headed by Fayez el-Sarraj, a deputy in the Tripoli parliament, and include three deputy prime ministers, one each from the west, east and south of the country.

A unity government in Libya is seen as the best chance to tackle migrant-smuggling from Libyan territory across the Mediterranean and the rise of an Islamic State-affiliated group in the country.

Five people were killed by shelling in the Libyan city of Benghazi late Monday, a local hospital reported, as the Islamic State group claimed it had executed two men in the east of the war-torn country.

Conflict casualties

The al-Jalaa hospital in Benghazi announced on Facebook that four people were killed in the shelling and a fifth died in hospital, while three others were injured.

"Most of (the casualties are) children under the age of 10," it said.

A military source in Benghazi confirmed the incident, which happened in the central area of Laithi, but refused to say who was behind the violence.

Separately, Islamic State (IS) group fighters, in a video bearing the logo of Burqa, one of the "states" which the militants claim to control, said it had executed two men in eastern Libya.

One was introduced as a South Sudanese Christian, and the other was a Libyan said to be fighting for the country's Tobruk government.