Ongoing fighting and the determination of both sides to scale up their armed capabilities continue to cast a shadow over talks on a unity government.

Talks on the formation of a unity government in Libya resumed in mid-April after a hiatus of more than two weeks. But as with the previous round of talks in late March, the negotiations were held against a backdrop of continued fighting. Forces linked to both the Tobruk-based House of Representatives (HoR) and the Tripoli-based General National Congress (GNC) are meanwhile actively seeking to increase their armed capacity. (CONTINUED - 2044 WORDS)