UN-supported Libya government and rival authority call ceasefire

Development raises hopes of political solution as both sides call for end to oil blockade

Libya's UN-supported government has announced a ceasefire across the oil-rich country and called for the demilitarisation of the strategic city of Sirte, which is controlled by rival forces.

In a separate statement Aguila Saleh, the speaker of the rival House of Representatives in the east, also called for a ceasefire. The announcements came amid fears of an escalation in the more than nine-year-old conflict.