Libyan Prime Minister announces resignation live on TV

TRIPOLI - The prime minister of Libya's internationally recognised government, Abdullah al-Thani, announced his resignation during a live television interview late Tuesday.

"If my exit is the solution, then I announce it here"," al-Thani said during the talk show, adding that "my resignation will be submitted to the parliament on Sunday".

Earlier Tuesday the rival Libyan factions started a new UN-sponsored round of peace talks in Geneva aimed at creating a unity government, with representatives of the powerful Tripoli parliament joining the negotiations after boycotting them last month.

Al-Thani's recognised government has been working from the eastern port city of Tobruk since an Islamist militia alliance captured the capital last year.

Benghazi, the main city in the east, is also facing a non-stop daily war between pro- and anti-government militias and forces.

Libya, which plunged into chaos after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, currently has two rival parliaments vying for power as well several militia groups battling for control of the country's vast resource wealth.