Germany's Merkel urges Libyan PM al-Sarraj to sign ceasefire

German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke by phone with Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj on Thursday, a German government spokesman said in a statement, urging him to move quickly towards signing a ceasefire.

The phone call came days after Khalifa Haftar, military commander of the opposing side in Libya's civil conflict, visited Merkel for talks in Berlin.

"They discussed the current political and military situation," the statement read. "The chancellor stressed, as she did on Tuesday in her conversation with General Khalifa Haftar, the importance of signing the ceasefire that was recently agreed in Geneva by representatives of the conflict parties."