UN envoy arrives in Tunisia

"Ban Ki-moon's envoy for Libya, (Abdel Elah) al-Khatib has arrived in Tunisia," said a ministry spokesman. "Tomorrow he will meet the (Tunisian) foreign minister and after that we don't know but certainly he will meet the Libyan parties."

Khatib, a former Jordanian foreign minister, was appointed in March by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The envoy has met on several occasions with representatives of Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi and the rebels demanding an end to Qadhafi's 41-year rule. He has so far been unable to persuade the sides to adopt his ceasefire plan.

His visit to the region was his first since rebel advances cut Tripoli off from its supply route to Tunisia at the weekend, potentially shifting the momentum in the rebels' favour.

That development was followed by unconfirmed reports of new talks between the rebels and Qadhafi's government.

A government spokesman in Tripoli said there were no talks on Qadhafi stepping down.

Copyright Reuters, 2011