The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is following with concern the demonstrations that took place in several cities in Libya, including Tripoli, Tobruk, and Benghazi, on Friday, says UN head spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

Demonstrations spread across Libya on Friday in protest over power cuts, living conditions, oil shutdown, and the failure to hold national elections.

In a statement Saturday, Guterres urged demonstrators to avoid acts of violence and called on security forces to exercise the utmost restraint, as he recognized the right to peaceful demonstrations.

Angry protesters burned tires and blocked off roads in Tripoli and Benghazi, while others set fire to government buildings including the Parliament's building in Tobruk.

According to the statement, the UN head acknowledged that the political deadlock is negatively deepening the division and economic crisis in the country.

He urged Libyan actors to join hands to overcome this critical stage and called on all actors to refrain from any actions that could undermine stability.

Guterres reaffirmed the readiness of the UN and his Special Adviser on Libya, Stephanie Williams, to help chart a way out of the crisis through an electoral process on constitutional grounds.

He hailed the UN-led Cairo and Geneva meetings and stressed the need to build on such "progress."