(3 minutes read)
· Libya’s interim authorities reopened the Mediterranean coastal highway linking the country’s long-divided eastern and western
cities
· This is the latest bid to reunite the land after years of civil war
· Importantly, this development comes three days ahead of an international conference on Libya to be hosted by Germany and the United Nations in Berlin
Libya’s interim authorities reopened the Mediterranean coastal highway linking the country’s long-divided eastern and western cities. This is the latest bid to reunite the land after years of civil war. Importantly, this development comes three days ahead of an
international conference on Libya to be hosted by Germany and the United Nations in Berlin.
Libyan Prime Minister Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah will be participating at the meeting. The highway that passes through the coastal areas has been closed since April 2019. The east-based military commander Khalifa Hifter launched a military offensive to try to take the capital, Tripoli, from the U.N. recognized government, leading to instability in the country. Libya has been passing through a tumultuous times for long. The reopening of the coastal highways to enable the safe passage of civilians and goods was a long-held demand of the U.N. Among the countries which hailed the move included the US, saying that it would help Libyans to have complete control of their own affairs.
This important move to resume traffic in the Mediterranean coastline comes amidst tensions between interim authorities and Hifter’s troops. Hifter’s self-styled Libyan Arab Armed Forces announced the deployment of more troops in the largely lawless south. Hifter’s troops have also closed the western border with Algeria, saying it was to combat terrorism. However, Libya’s presidential council has sent its own brigades to the south to face the possible trouble to be let loose by Hifter’s troops.
