Ghassan Salama, the UN special envoy to Libya, requested that he be relieved of his duties for health reasons, nearly three years after he took office.
"After the Berlin Summit and the launch of the three tracks after the issuance of Resolution 2510, it is time to acknowledge that his health no longer allows him to undergo stress since he took office," Salama said Monday in a tweet on Twitter.
He added in his tweet that he had sought for two years and more to reunite the Libyans, curb the interference of the outside, and preserve the country's unity, as he put it.
The UN envoy's announcement came as military and political talks between representatives of the two parties to the conflict in Libya stumbled in Geneva, amid a military escalation by the forces of retired Major General Khalifa Hifter in Tripoli.
In statements he made on Friday in Geneva, Salameh said that he wanted to continue the negotiation process in the military, political and economic tracks between the Libyans under the supervision of the United Nations, although the main representatives of the two parties suspended their participation in the political talks.
Salama faced criticism from the Libyan National Accord government and parties close to it for adopting a compromising policy for Haftar, while the latter criticized the UN envoy, accusing him of siding with the internationally recognized Libyan government.
Ghassan Salameh is the sixth UN special envoy and the second Lebanese envoy to head the UN mission in Libya. He holds a doctorate degree in political science from the University of Paris I and a doctorate in arts from the University of Paris III.